The Tales of Shadow and Armageddon
by Lady Kick Your Butt
Summary: The Superhero AU nobody asked for and I got way too invested in. Shadow is unmoving and gruff. Armageddon is flirtatious and definitely not in love with her. Skye Pederwick is gruff and unmoving. Jeffrey is polite, but can't help getting offended by her terse behavior.
1. Chapter 1

She was amazing. A goddess in a hoodie, baseball cap, and a bandana that covered the bottom of her face. Sometimes, Jeffrey got a look at her eyes, but that's all. They were blue and confident, and filled with dead certainty, as if her passion for justice was the blood that flowed through her veins.

She was a shadow, literally. That's what people called her, that was the curse every villain hissed under his breath when he realized he had no escape. She moved with an unseeing grace, blending in with the dark. There was no sign she was there until she had already left, her victim tied up and waiting for the police to finally show.

Jeffrey remembered the first time he had met the vigilante. He was wearing his own homemade costume: A black mask, black pants, a black sleeveless hoodie that covered his unruly hair, and a pair of fingerless gloves. He looked scrappy and rough. Not at all his usual polished and neat self. He had caught a glimpse of the mysterious hero as she slipped away from where she had just finished taking down a guy in an alley.

Jeffrey had taken after her as quietly as he could, following her down back streets and through empty buildings with large X's to show they were unpassable as a proper home. Then, half-a-beat, and she was gone. One second she was there exiting through a back door, but when Jeffrey stuck his head out a half-second later she was nowhere in sight. He scratched his head under the hood and marveled at how good she was. He didn't notice the figure behind him, as the Shadow dropped down from her perch above the door.

"What do you want?" The voice was short, low, and terse. It was a big shock to Jeffrey and he almost died on the spot from fear.

"I-I want to do what you do." Jeffrey had explained himself eagerly, once he had gotten through a stumbling and embarrassing moment of anxiety. "I want to be a superhero."

"I'm not a superhero. I'm a vigilante. The police don't care that much for me." The Shadow stepped around him, "Why should I care about what you do and don't want to do? I don't have time for this."

"I want to work with you. Help you out." Jeffrey chased after her.

"No chance." She had snorted, "I don't need a Robin getting in my way."

"I don't want to be your sidekick. I want to be your partner." Jeffrey corrected.

"Look, Man." The Shadow stopped and sighed.

"Armageddon."

"What?"

"That's what I call myself." Jeffrey told her proudly, "It's greek for the final conflict between the forces of evil and go-"

"I know what it means." The Shadow didn't sound impressed, "You're really calling yourself Amaggdion?"

"Armageddon." Jeffrey corrected.

"Gesundheit. Look, Don, I put up with about twenty of you superhero cosplayers a week, and I just don't have the patience to deal with you. I'm serious about what I do, and what's more, I know what I'm doing. Just stay out of my way and don't go around trying to be some kind of hero. I don't want to have to save your stupid butt too."

And she had disappeared.

The second time Jeffrey ran into the Shadow, he literally ran into her. The building was burning down around them, and he was bent under the weight of large unconscious man he was carrying, choking from the smoke that poured down his lungs. He staggered down the stairs and straight into The Shadow who was running up them.

"You?!" The Shadow was surprised, but she caught herself right away, pushing onto what was more important, "Is there anyone else up there?"

"No, this floor is clear." Jeffrey wheezed. The Shadow nodded, and ran back down, calling behind her.

"Take the civilian outside, I'll clear the last two floors. Go!"

Jeffrey didn't hesitate. He didn't know how much longer he'd be able to breathe in the choking smoke. Still, he didn't hesitate to run back in, after he handed the unconscious man over to the waiting paramedics. There was no need, he met The Shadow right in the front hall, she was carrying a small child in her arms. Jeffrey started to move towards her, but was interrupted by a 'CRACK' from above. They both leapt back as a portion of the ceiling came down in a fiery crash. It was a big obstruction, Jeffrey couldn't see how Shadow would be able to clear it.

"Here! Catch her!"

Jeffrey barely had time to react as the unconscious little girl got hurled into his arms, but he caught her easily enough, she barely weighed anything to him.

"Get her out of here!"

"What about you!" Jeffrey shouted back. The fire licked at his boots and forced him to take a step back.

"I'm a superhero, remember?" She said sarcastically, "I'll manage. Hurry up, she needs immediate attention."

Her words reminded Jeffrey of his priorities, and he reluctantly ran out of the burning building the girl in his arms. Everything crumbled behind him. It was horrifying, and he ran back looking for a way in. The only clear way, was a window on the ground floor. Jeffrey pulled back his fist to break the window, only to have it break on him as The Shadow leapt through it. She spring-boarded off Jeffrey, knocking him to the ground and allowing her to land on her feet.

"What? H-How? How did you get out of there!?"

"I'm fireproof."

"Really?"

"No." The Shadow brushed some glass shards off of herself, "You alright?"

"You're asking me that? You just emerged from a collapsed building!"

"I'm talking about how I kicked you over. You're just lying there."

"Oh, right." Jeffrey got up to his feet hurriedly, "You didn't hurt me."

"Good, because I've got to run. There's a crime in progress across town."

"How do you know?"

"I'm psychic."

"Really?"

"No." The Shadow snorted and took off. Jeffrey ran after her.

"Let me help."

"Only if you can keep up. I'm not waiting for you."

Jeffrey had kept up and the rest was history. Shadow and Armageddon became two inseparable entities, like peanut butter and jelly. The Shadow was Jeffrey's best friend, something he still felt awed by. He had never really had a friend before, at least not before he came to Boston.

...

"Hey, Jeffrey. So, I was thinking for our study project would you like to come over to my house? It's only five minutes away." Jeffrey's study partner walked in step next to him.

"Yeah, that's fine with me. What time should I get there?" Jeffrey slung his backpack over his shoulder.

"How about fourish? You could stay for supper too if you want." Jane Penderwick told him.

"Supper sounds great. You sure it's not an imposition on your family?"

"None at all, the big question is if they'll be an imposition on you. My family can get a little noisy and dramatic, and it might be hard finding someplace quiet to study if Skye doesn't give up our bedroom, but it shouldn't be too big of a problem."

...

Jeffrey felt like there was a problem. Was this the right house? It was the address Jane had given him, but there had to be some kind of mistake. Nobody was answering the door.

Jeffrey knocked for the third time, only to have the door yanked open mid-knock. He stepped back when he was met by a very suspicious glare.

"Hi."

"Who are you?" The girl asked, her face creased with a frown.

"Um...Jeffrey. Is Jane there?"

The blonde's stern look got even darker if that was possible.

"Why?"

"Um...I-"

"Relax, Skye. That's just my study partner, we're working on a project together." Jane pushed the other girl out of the way and motioned Jeffrey in, "Come on, I found a whole bunch of great sites we can use as references."

Jeffrey stepped inside gingerly, and gave Jane's sister as wide a berth as possible.

"Skye this is Jeffrey. Jeffrey this is my older sister, Skye."

Jeffrey held out his hand, but Skye only nodded curtly at him, her arms crossed. Jeffrey pulled back his hand and used it to rub the back of his neck.

"Ignore her, she's just being difficult." Jane whispered in her ear, as she pulled Jeffrey out of the kitchen. Skye was already ignoring him in favor of rooting around in the refrigerator.

"Skye, Rosie's not going to be happy if you're not hungry enough for supper."

"As if I'm never hungry for supper." Skye mumbled as she took a bite out of an apple and disappeared downstairs into the basement, like a badger ducking into its hole. She certainly had the disposition of a badger.

"Charming isn't she?" Jane said breezily, "Come on, and meet everyone else before we get to work."

...

"What's your favorite color?" Jeffrey inquired, ducking back in time to avoid a particular nasty-looking knife.

"Would you at least try to stop learning my secret identity until we finish rounding up these idiots." The Shadow sidekicked one of their assailants in the mouth.

"You always leave right away after a fight." Jeffrey protested, "I don't have a chance to talk with you afterwards."

"You know how I feel about us revealing our civilian identities. That's too much of a hazard, it makes it one step easier for any goons to guess it themselves." The Shadow reminded him, "It's practically impossible that we even know each other in real life anyway."

"It's just a color." Jeffrey insisted, as he sucker-punched one man's nose.

"Fine. It's green. Happy?"

"Great! Do you want to know what mine is?"

"No."

"It's blue. Just like your eyes."

"What did I say about you flirting with me?"

"I don't know, I usually ignore those lectures." Jeffrey joined the Shadow in landing a final blow on the last of the muggers. Shadow was smiling behind her bandana, he was sure of it.

"Stop it, with the corny gushing or I'll go solo again." The Shadow socked his forearm.

"Come on, I know you love me." Jeffrey gave her a grin under from under the shade his hood provided.

"I'm serious." Jeffrey could see her scowling under her baseball cap.

"Fine. I'm sorry." He apologized, "You know I'm only kidding."

He wasn't kidding. Every time he saw the Shadow, Jeffrey felt as if she was punching him in the stomach instead of one of the many criminals they fought so hard against.

...

Skye found herself listening as Jeffrey and Jane chattered on the floor of her and her sister's shared bedroom. They were discussing Jane's favorite topic of course: The Vigilantes of Boston. Shadow and Armageddon. Skye still rolled her eyes every time she heard that name. Her partner was good fighter, but he seriously lacked in the naming department.

"It's kind of frustrating. Every time I feel like I'm getting close, she just slips away." Jane's goal in life was to meet the Shadow in person. That made it Skye's goal to make sure that that never happened. It was way too risky. Jane would figure out who she was the second she opened her mouth.

"That's a shame." Jeffrey said, "I've met Armageddon before, but Shadow always manages to run before anyone can get in a word."

"You've met Armageddon?! What's he like?" Jane gushed

Skye was interested too, though she didn't show it.

"Really nice. He's got a hilarious sense of humor."

Skye barely held herself back from snorting aloud.

"You're so lucky." Jane sighed, "I'd give an arm and a leg to meet him."

Skye really did snort at that.

"What?" Jane demanded, "You can't tell me you side with the cops."

"No, I agree the police have been doing a shoddy job for quite some time now, but I don't see the appeal in idolizing anyone, no matter how much good they do. Everyone has their faults, and the fact that they both aren't afraid to take the law into their hands, I don't know, it kind of means we're relying on their own whims."

Skye throws that last piece in for a mislead. After all, if she's against taking the law into your hands, she couldn't very well be one of the incognito vigilantes, can she?

"They're not taking the law into their own hands." Jeffrey protested, "They're trying to uphold the measure of the law against those who refuse to. The Shadow has never once attempted to twist the law to her benefit. She focuses on saving people from anything that could hurt them. And if crooks are part of that danger, she's going to stop them."

"That's taking the law into your own hands." Skye pointed out, "Look, I'm not saying that I don't approve of the good those two have done, I just refuse to put anyone on a pedestal. We're all human, and we all have faults. If we treat them like gods, what kind of message are we sending them?"

"We're showing that we appreciate their hard work." Jane piped up, "It must be rather disgruntling to do your hardest to make a change, and get treated with nothing but ungratefulness."

"Exactly." Jeffrey nodded, "Take Shadow for example. She's inspiring people to lift their heads and start making changes themselves. If she didn't rise to the challenge, we wouldn't have Armageddon, or the urge to realize what's wrong with this city. She's a force for change, a bringer of a new era. When future generations look back in time, she'll be as revered as much as say, George Washington or anybody else who worked for a better existence."

"Someone's got a crush." Skye said dryly. Inwardly though, she felt flattered.

"I don't have a crush." Jeffrey's face was beet red, and he hunkered back over his and Jane's textbooks, "I just feel grateful for the hard work she's done."

...

"Hey, Don." Skye refused to encourage her partner by calling him by his full alias. Don was safe and easy. "Do you ever feel just...so done. Like no matter how many times you do something good, ten more negative things rise up and cancel out your work?"

"You're not giving up are you?" Armageddon sounded alarmed.

"No. I just...Forget it. It's nothing." Skye regretted her moment of doubt. He didn't get it, he found saving the day and having an alias exciting. He thought it was just big fun.

"It's frustrating. Especially when you talk to someone and they don't realize you're a force of good." The solemnity in his voice arrested Skye, and she wondered when the punchline was coming. "It helps that you're by my side though. I think it wouldn't really matter if the whole world thought I was wrong, as long you believe along with me."

Skye didn't mind Armageddon's proclamations that much anymore, she was used to ignoring them as long as he didn't keep it up for too long. He was a huge flirt, but she was pretty sure it was just his wacked up sense of humor.

"Trust me. You by my side is not at all ideal. If I had my way, you'd be behind me."

Armageddon pouted at her, trying his best to make her swoon like all his many fangirls that surrounded him to get an autograph. Skye had way too much sense and dignity to be affected in the slightest.

"Like way behind. Like out of this country behind me. Heck, out of this star system. Even then, you'd be too close for comfort."

"Seriously though." Armageddon gave up trying to look adorable and switched back to their prior conversation, "What's got you feeling like this is so pointless?"

"I don't know, I just feel like...people keep praising me, and I-I don't like it." Skye trailed off pitily.

Armageddon tilted his head back and laughed, "You hate that people like you? That is golden, that really is just...", he trailed off into a fit of cackling.

"That's not what I meant." Skye scolded and pulled her baseball cap even lower over her eyes, "It's just they expect me to be this invicible hero, like I'm unstoppable and I could never do anything wrong by them. That pressure is kind of killer, and I get stressed that I'm going to fail somehow. I only started this vigilante business, because I have a gift and I was getting frustrated by how bad things are. I want justice, not glory."

Armageddon was silent, his hilarity wiped clean off his face, or what Skye could see of his face. Skye wondered if he even understood her worries. He seemed to thrive in the spotlight. She couldn't stand people kissing up to her, or loving her when they didn't even know who she truly was.

"I get that feeling." Armageddon said softly, "Like someone is pushing you into a role you're not entirely cut out to play."

There's genuine bitterness in his voice, and Sky felt momentarily curious as to what her partner's real life was like. She quickly pushed it away. Admitting she was curious about Armageddon's life was a dangerous step down a road of them knowing who each other was and getting too close or worse: repulsed by the other's real life. Still, knowing he understood was helpful.

"It's not new to me." Skye admitted. Sometimes she felt as if people unconsciously compared her to her mother, just because she looked like her. "I've just never experienced it on such a large scale. If people really knew who I was in real life, I think they'd be disappointed."

"I wouldn't." Armageddon declared, "If I knew you in real life, I'd guess your identity right away. There is no-one in this world that is as grumpy and gruff, as stoic and stubborn, as beautiful and graceful, as intelligent-"

"I get the picture." Skye interrupted grimly.

...

Skye, in Jeffrey's opinion, was as unfathomable and unmovable as a slab of granite. It was his third visit to the Penderwick's home, and everyone had embraced him already. Everyone except Skye. The thing was he couldn't even really tell if she hated or tolerated him. Who knew, maybe her abrupt manner of speech and habit of disappearing all the time was her way of liking someone. She was definitely an enigma that one.

"How are you?" Jeffrey attempted to be polite. Skye grumped- she did that a lot- and continued past him to her motorcycle in the driveway.

"I don't think Skye likes me." Jeffrey told Rosie and Jane. They both exchanged knowing looks.

"It's not that she doesn't like you." Rosie tried to explain, "It's that Skye doesn't have the patience or the interest to decide if she likes you or not."

"She thought you were trying to come on to me." Jane said less tactfully.

Jeffrey choked on his drink. Not that Jane wasn't a nice girl, she was even kind of cute in a little sister kind of way, but Jeffrey kind of had a thing for strong, silent, superheroines that could knock him out in one punch.

"Not that she still thinks that of course." Jane hastened to explain, "She believed me when I explained that we're just friends. I'm just pointing out why she was so hostile at first. Skye wouldn't hurt a fly, but she would punch you if she thought you were acting inappropriate in any way."

"If you want to get through to her, you'll have to be the one initiating any conversations, at least at first." Rosalind recommended.

And because Jeffrey felt the need to be on good terms with everybody, he decided to give it a go. The next time he saw Skye, she was burrowed in the refrigerator again. She always seemed to be looking for a snack. Jeffrey didn't blame her. Ever since he had put in an effort to work out more, he had become rather snackish all the time.

"Hey, Skye."

Skye must not have been aware of Jeffrey's presence, because she didn't grunt as was her normal want. No, instead she- almost as if it was a reflex- scrambled up onto the top of the refrigerator and peered down at him in a defensive pose. It was as if she was ready to leap down at a moment's notice and attack now that she had the higher ground. Jeffrey had never seen someone react so quickly, and he jumped back in alarm.

"Sorry." He put up his hands, "I thought you knew I was there."

Skye seemed taken aback herself and rather flustered, but she jumped back down from her perch and landed almost without a noise.

"Hey." It was one of the first legible words Skye had ever spoken to him without a trace of suspicion or scorn. Jeffrey took it as good sign, even if she had mumbled it.

"I was just heading outside to play some basketball with Ben, and he said you liked to play sometimes. Want to join us? I mean you clearly can jump pretty high." Jeffrey put on his most polite and persuasive smile. The one he used whenever he had to talk to one of his mother's friends. Or even his mother herself sometimes.

"..." Skye studied him, as if she thought there was a catch, "Sure. There's nothing to eat anyway." She shut the refrigerator door and followed him outside.

...

Jeffrey was alright. Skye decided, watching in approval as he lifted Ben up so the small boy could dunk the basketball. Still, she was pretty upset with herself letting him sneak up on her like that. That shouldn't have happened. Nobody snuck up on Skye. Even Armageddon rarely succeeded, and he practiced daily.

There was something else about Jeffrey, something offputting. His smile towards her was definitely fake, Skye could make that out easy enough. She knew when people were only feigning interest. But it was more than that. Other than that one time Jeffrey had made the impassioned speech on Shadow, he acted very cool and collected. He played to people's ears, and could sense exactly what to and to not say. He was cautious.

He was hiding something. Skye wouldn't delve into it though, God knew she had plenty of her own secrets. She wasn't one to pry. Armageddon could learn well to take a page out of Jeffrey's book and be a little more reticent.

Ben soon got tired of basketball- his interest was constantly drifting- and he wandered off to dig for treasure or find Batty. Skye and Jeffrey kept silent, but soon slipped gradually into a weird unspoken bond of just passing the ball back and forth to the other. It was almost as if they were in sync. Jeffrey would dribble around and then just toss it over to Skye. It didn't matter where she was standing or where he wandered, the ball would end up in the exact spot needed. It was kind of mesmerizing and every time one of them increased their speed the other would match it. This went on for an hour, until Jeffrey threw the ball wide and high, Skye's practically soared up into the air and met the ball with a guiding grace, slam-dunking it straight into the hoop.

The basketball fell to the ground and bounced a couple of times before rolling off, Skye didn't notice it.

"Nice dunk." Jeffrey looked as confused as Skye felt. As if they had had a strange connection. Skye shrugged loosely, and bent down to pick up the basketball, "I'm better at soccer." She doesn't know why, but her piece of information just slipped on it's own.

"Better?" Jeffrey was impressed as he let out a low whistle, "I'd hate to play against you then."

"Or Jane." Skye informed him, "She has a natural talent for it."

Jeffrey raised an eyebrow but didn't reply, he motioned for Skye to throw the ball over again, and she obliged. But they didn't go back to their previous intensity, instead choosing to just bounce the ball back and forth idly.

"Jane said that you thought I was trying to get her on a date or something. I want to assure you that we're just friends."

"I know." Skye nodded, "Jane told me. I trust her."

She left a phrase in the air, unsaid, but Jeffrey heard it anyway.

"But not me?"

"I don't know you well enough for that, but it doesn't matter. Jane's her own person anyway, and can make her own choices. I wouldn't feel the need to intervene unless you were hurting her." Skye's face darkened on the word intervene to add stress to what she would do if Jeffrey did do something wrong.

Jeffrey appeared unphased by her scowl. Skye would have to work on it being more threatening, usually her frown was enough to shake anyone.

"I won't hurt her." Jeffrey assured her, "I'll treat her with more respect than I would Shadow."

Skye snorted at that.

"What? I'm serious."

"I just don't understand your infatuation for the vigilantes." Skye hurried to excuse herself somehow.

"So you wouldn't freak out if you got to meet Armageddon or Shadow?"

"Definitely not." Skye scoffed, "They're just people like you and me."

"People who save the city on a regular base." Jeffrey corrected, "You have to admit, you'd at least feel awed in their presence."

"I'll admit no such thing." Skye was stubborn, "They have same blood and flesh that I do, and while anyone shares the same organic composition that I do, I won't feel they're better than me or anyone else."

...

Skye's words rang through Jeffrey's head over and over. As Armageddon, Jeffrey had been treated with idolization, hatred, adoration, jealousy, and a few other emotions, but never indifference. Well, Shadow treated him with indifference, but she did care about him in her own way, he knew that. Skye was all talk. No way would she not react strongly if say Shadow walked up to her and asked what time it was, or if Armageddon paid her the slightest bit of interest.

That gave Jeffrey his current idea, and explained why he was hiding in the shade of trees next to the college Jane had told him Skye attended. He had spotted her motorcycle, and was watching it very diligently. His patience paid off as he caught sight of Skye's confident posture sauntering down the campus and over her to bike.

Jeffrey was quick to hurry over, but made sure he kept it nonchalant enough.

"Hey there." He called over in his best cocky voice. Skye only glanced at him at first, but was quick to take in his appearance and do a double take, "How are you today?" Jeffrey was certain he had her, Skye looked astounded by the fact that he was talking to her.

Then, she grunted and turned back to mounting her motorcycle, and Jeffrey was suddenly the one caught off guard.

"Wait a second!" he fumbled trying to come up with something to say, it didn't help that Skye shot him a look of profound exasperation. As if she had the gall to be annoyed he was taking up her time, "Can you tell me how to get to Bellevue Avenue? I'm lost."

"Two blocks down." Was all Skye said, and then she revved her motorcycle and sped off.

Jeffrey had to pick his jaw off the ground.


	2. Chapter 2

Jeffrey didn't know what he was expecting. It wasn't as if Skye would enter through the front door and swoon about how she had met the dashing vigilante, Armageddon, and how he had asked her for directions. But then again, he had kind of hoped she would have been affected enough to say something at all. Maybe complain about it or something.

He must have seemed like an idiot to her and Jane, when Skye had finally gotten home.

"Hey, Skye."

Skye barely glanced at him, though their short basketball game had given her enough respect towards him for her to reply with an absent-minded: "What's up?"

Her greeting had definitely been just rhetorical, her way of saying 'hi', but Jeffrey pretended to interpret it differently.

"Nothing much. What's up with you?"

"Nothing." Skye snagged a handful of chips from the bag next to Jane, and hurried on down into the Penderwick's basement before Jeffrey could say anything else, or bother her with small talk.

"Hey, you guys are making progress." Jane joked. Jeffrey made a face at that, so Jane continued on more seriously, "Relax. As far as I know, Skye doesn't have many friends or that much of a social life; so, your efforts were probably the highlight of her day."

"What does she even do in that basement all day?" Jeffrey was curious, "She always seems to either be down there, or grabbing food from the kitchen."

"Depends mostly. Either she's working with some technology gizmo, or fiddling with her motorcycle in the garage. She's going for a degree in mechanics and tech, though she could be working on a Frankestein level experiment for all I know."

That explained a lot. Skye always seemed to have three layers of oil on her hands, or wires spilling out of her pockets. She had even had a screwdriver behind her ear once. She definitely was an odd one.

"And she thinks I'm being ridiculous when I claim she's fills out the bad boy stereotype to a T." Jane scoffed and jotted down a reference for their project.

"What stereotype am I?" Jeffrey was one part joking and three parts curious.

"Hmmm, you're the quiet, shy, girl in all the rom-com highschool movies. The main lead who's always ignored, but leads a secret double life with an alter ego that everybody is crazy about."

Jeffrey felt like his heart had stopped beating, and for a moment he was terrified that Jane knew his secret, until she moved on obliviously.

"How about it, Jeffrey? Are you secretly some famous rockstar or actor heartthrob? Are you going to show up at some cheesy dance and give an inspiring speech? Are you the secret Cinderella that has to be home by twelve?"

Jeffrey was quick to play along.

"You got me." He joked, standing up on his chair, "Everyone is beautiful in their own way. We need to stop shoving each other down, and start offering hands to help each other up. None of us are better than everyone else. We all have fears and insecurities; so, instead of making fun of someone for that, why not encou-" Jeffrey froze mid-hairflip as his eyes landed on Skye standing just outside the basement door, watching him with a peculiar expression.

Skye continued on past the statue Jeffrey and unplugging the toaster, she carried it back down to her basement. Jeffrey heard her mutter just as the door closed, "..and the Oscar goes to.."

Jeffrey sat promptly back down in his seat. His ears were burning, and he desperately tried to ignore Jane's hysterical fit of laughter.

...

"What's up with you?" Skye wasn't going to question Armageddon's sullenness at first, but it had reached a point where his silence started to feel unsettling, and she thought it her responsibility to say something.

"I don't want to talk about it." Armageddon sighed heavily.

"Good."

"It's just that I've got this problem."

Skye wanted to grab Armageddon by his shoulders and shake him in frustration.

"There's this girl."

Skye didn't know why, but she felt an odd twinge in her chest. She pushed it aside. After all it wasn't like she actually cared about Armageddon in that way, and she always knew he had only ever been teasing.

"God, if you are asking me for relationship advice I swear I will throw you off of this building." Skye grumbled, her voice muffled by the bandana.

"Ha. You don't have to worry about that. You're still the only one for me, M'Lady." Armageddon was only half-focused on his flirting as he began to pace back and forth on the building top. Skye watched him from her crouching perch on the edge of the building's wall. She liked looking down on Boston at night, or at least she had before Armageddon came along and tainted it with his troubles.

"There's this girl, I don't think she takes me very seriously."

"If this is you referring to me in a roundabout way, I will kill you on the spot."

"It's not you." Armageddon assured her, "Anyway, anytime I try to talk to this girl she just brushes me off as if I'm a nuiscence."

"Shocking."

"And I want to get along with her, because she's part of this family I've grown really close to."

Skye barely stifled a groan. She couldn't stand rambling.

"Nothing I do seems to get her attention. I could be mud under her shoe for all she cares. I just want to be on friendly terms with her is all. You know make her feel like I'm not an invasion."

"Maybe she just wants to be left alone." Skye said tersely, hoping Armageddon would take the hint and drop it.

"It's unbelievably hard though, because she always seem to be on the opposite end of the spectrum. She doesn't seem to care about anything that really matters. She practically came right out and said she doesn't care at all about what the two of us have achieved. Nothing impresses her."

"Wow, that must have hurt your pride." Skye felt rather satisfied, "Somebody actually dared to reject your attentions."

"I don't hit on her." Armageddon sounded frustrated, "I just want to understand her. She's got to have her reasons, but she just pushes me aside even when I'm in costume."

"Don, what did I tell you about watching over your identity better?"

"I didn't say anything incriminating." Armageddon said flippantly, "I just asked for directions that's all. She drove off on her stupid motorcycle before I got the chance to say anything else."

Skye was about to make a scything remark when Armageddon's words resonated in her mind. Hold up. Directions? Motorcycle? He couldn't be-

"She claims that you don't unnerve her either, but she's never even met you. You'd show her for sure, then she wouldn't be able to even function straight."

Skye couldn't function at that moment. It took all her will power to keep her hold on the edge of the roof. She hopped down before she could lose her balance. By then, Armageddon had slipped into full rant mode and he didn't even notice her.

"I don't even know why it bugs me so much, but I feel oddly compelled to challenge her. Hey, maybe you could visit her. Knock some sense into her head."

"Don, I told you to leave me out of your personal life." Skye's teeth were clenched. No way it could it be her he was talking about.

"She's got a lot of nerve. I think I only got annoyed by Skye, when she dissed you. As if your work means nothing and we'll never make a difference."

And it was her. Of course it was her. Skye's brain whirred as she put the final pieces together. The way Armageddon ranted, his way of the describing the situation...he could only be... No. No. Nope. No way. There was no way possible that her partner could be...Jeffrey? Skye was done.

"I'm out. When you're done revealing personal information to the pigeons, then come and find me." Given the circumstances, it was all Skye could say before she leapt off the building. She twisted mid-air. Firing her grappling hook behind her, she slid the rest of the way down on the steel-enforced rope. This was just messed up. Someone way up there was laughing at her as they shook her life up. Skye scowled up at the tower where Armaged-no- Jeffrey was no doubt trying to figure out what her problem was. Though, according to him that wasn't an entirely new thing.

...

After he and Jane had finished their school project, Jeffrey didn't stop by the Penderwicks' for a whole week, and he began to really miss them. He felt rather lonely of late, Shadow seemed distant. Or more distant than usual, and that was even when he actually got to see her. Before, they'd patrol Boston together, but lately Shadow would only show up at the last possible second, help Jeffrey take out the enemy, and then she'd dash off again without a word of explanation.

Needless to say, Jeffrey had jumped at Jane's invitation to stop by for supper that night. He was so happy to be back, he could have almost hugged Skye herself. He didn't go that far though, just settled for a cheerful hello and a polite question after her wellbeing.

"Fine." Skye didn't grunt. The world was full of surprises. She scurried off even faster than normal, but Jeffrey didn't pay her any mind. He was in too good of a mood.

Rosalind seemed to mind however and stopped her younger sister in her tracks.

"Skye. You're not going into the basement again are you?" She asked, her back to the blonde.

Skye skidded to a halt, and leaned casually against the basement door, closing it with a silent click. "No." She attempted to sound innocent, her hands cradled the electric mixer she had stolen off the counter behind her back. Not for the first time, Jeffrey wondered at her strange obsession with the kitchen appliances.

"Put the mixer back. You know the rules. You're only allowed to take one utility at a time, and you still haven't returned the microwave."

"What's left of the microwave." Skye corrected under her breath as she set the mixer back in its proper place.

"Where's Batty? Have you even picked her up from school yet?!"

"Yes, she's just hiding again." Skye rolled her eyes towards the living room, "She, Lydia, and Ben are playing one of their games. Are we done here? Can I go now?"

Jeffrey was finding the whole exchange rather amusing, though Skye didn't seem to appreciate his presence. She kept casting strange glances at him.

"Not to the basement." Rosalind said firmly as Jane sauntered back into the kitchen, "You need some fresh air. You're going outside with Jane and Jeffrey."

Jane looked agreeable. Skye and Jeffrey didn't.

"Can't I just go for a ride on my motorcycle or something instead?" Skye pleaded.

"She can do a wheelie now." Batty piped up from under the table and startled everyone.

"What?!" Rosalind turned on Skye.

"She showed me on the way home from school."

"You picked her up on YOUR MOTORCYCLE?!"

"You know what? Fresh air sounds good. Let's go." Skye grabbed Jane by the arm and practically yanked her outside. In turn, Jane snagged Jeffrey as they went past, and he found himself outside rather suddenly.

"What were you thinking, bringing Batty home from school on your motorcycle? You could have been arrested!"

"She was fine. And I took all the backways. The cops are pretty oblivious."

"Wheelies though?!"

"She wasn't on the motorcycle with me when I did them. I was just trying to intimidate a couple of brats that were making fun of her, okay? Let's just drop it. You guys go on and do whatever it is you do. I'll go off and do my own thing, and then we'll all meet back here later."

"No."

"No?"

"Rosie's right. You're becoming a recluse, Skye."

"Oh God. Don't give me this right now." Skye motioned at Jeffrey ever so slightly, and he caught her meaning. It was 'don't do this right now. In front of him.'.

"You're staying with us. If you go off, I'll tell Rosie on you."

Skye scowled. It was something familiar though, and oddly enough Jeffrey drew comfort from it.

"Fine. What are you two doing?"

"We're going for a walk to the park to play some Frisbee." Jane produced the disc out of seemingly nowhere.

"Whatever." Skye grudgingly followed Jeffrey and her sister ten feet back. She stayed quiet the whole way, kicking at some leaves.

...

Skye stuggled internally. Oh, God. How was she supposed to deal with this? How should she be acting around Jeffrey? Was she being overly obvious? She was wasn't she? Should she talk more? Should she talk less? Curse Rosie and Jane for choosing now of all times to force her to socialize. And to socialize with the last person on earth she wanted to talk to at the moment. Seriously, Skye got along a lot better with some criminals she knew than she did with Jeffrey Tifton.

"Throw it here." Jeffrey motioned, and Skye practically hurled the Frisbee at him in an effort to throw out everything on her mind too. She threw it way too hard and aimed too well at Jeffrey's head. Jeffrey yelped and dropped right before the Frisbee would have beheaded him. The Frisbee flew on and on and on and landed in a tree.

Jane groaned in frustration.

"I'll get it." Skye and Jeffrey promised and ran off at the same time. Halfway there it turned into some weird race, because they both refused to let the other retrieve it. Skye was faster though, and she knew it. She pulled ahead of Jeffrey by at least five feet. Armageddon was the strong one, he didn't have the quickness and agility that Shadow had. When they got to the tree, Skye leaped for the lowest branch without slowing down. As a result, Jeffrey didn't slow down either, but he wasn't quick enough to jump; so, he crashed straight into the tree.

Skye barely resisted making a Shadow-like sarcastic remark down on him. She focused her energy on scrambling up higher and grabbing Jane's yellow Frisbee. Then, she slid down with ease, landing lightly next to Jeffrey's prone, panting figure.

"You okay?" She hadn't killed him had she?

"Peachy." Jeffrey wheezed and held out his hand, Skye took it automatically and began to tug him up to his feet, only to freeze. Wait. No, this was Armageddon. The guy who had been flirting with her for three months now. Skye flushed and dropped Jeffrey's hand quickly before he had a chance to fully get up.

Jeffrey fell back again with an, 'oof'.

"Skye! Will you please stop repeatedly and methodically trying to kill Jeffrey?" Jane protested, finally reaching the two of them and helping Jeffrey up.

"Sorry. Sorry. Um, here." Skye shoved the Frisbee into Jeffrey's chest. A little too roughly.

Jeffrey wheezed and bent over trying to regain the breath that had been knocked out of him. Skye gave up and clambered up the tree in an effort to escape.

"Skye!"

"Just..." Skye was already embarrassed by her split decision. Climbing up a tree? Right, because that was a totally normal thing to do. "Just go play without me. I think I'll stay up here for a little while. She peered down on the other two in time to see Jeffrey motion up towards her, asking Jane what her problem was. Jane shrugged back in bewilderment and looked torn for a moment, but Jeffrey managed to coax her away and Skye sighed in relief. That couldn't have possibly gotten worse.

Skye lost track of how long she stayed up in that tree, just lying on the branch staring up at the leaf-filtered sky, before she heard Jeffrey's voice down below. How had she not recognized that familiar voice before?

"You okay?"

"You're asking me?" Skye scoffed.

"Fair enough. I'm fine, if you at all worried about that. Accidents happen."

Skye really wished he'd just leave her alone, the last thing she needed was Jeffrey- who was also Armageddon- being nice to her. He was making it very hard to avoid him.

"Jane's started back for home, she got so engrossed in a new chapter for her story she forgot you." Jeffrey explained.

Skye decided she had no other course than to head back too then; so, she jumped down from her branch and only nodded at the boy as they walked back. Jeffrey was too polite to let Skye lag behind, and he kept in step with her reluctant pace.

"I'm sorry." Skye couldn't stand just walking along silently, it made everything ten times more awkward.

"It's cool now." Jeffrey remarked, his voice just as stiff as her's. It was one of the reasons Skye was having such a hard time associating him with the loose and open 'Don' she worked alongside.

"I wasn't doing that on purpose, I promise." Skye felt the need to clarify, "I-I've just been really occupied of late."

"It's okay. It'd take a lot more to kill me than that." Jeffrey puffed out his stomach and thumped his chest in mock smugness. It was an action so befitting of Armageddon, Skye couldn't help rolling her eyes at him. Jeffrey coughed and seemed to be sheepish at his moment of ego. He fell silent again, rubbing the back of his neck. Skye never realized how long the walk to the park was.

"So, Jane says you're studying to be an engineer."

Skye shrugged in confirmation.

"You like it so far?"

"Yeah, I like the work. Machines are just about the only things that make sense to me."

"I can tell." Jeffrey's eyes widened at his own snark and he rushed to amend it. "I'm sorry that was rude-"

"I don't mind. In case you haven't noticed, I'm a lot worse. Whatever you say is not going to phase me."

"Believe me I have noticed." Jeffrey laughed slightly, and it was the most authentic sound he'd ever made addressed to Skye. "You literally have machinery coming out of you."

Skye glanced in confusion down at the pocket Jeffrey had motioned to. He was right. Some of her wires for her newest project were trying to escape their place in her pocket.

"Surprised I haven't lost these yet." Skye grunted and pulled them out before they fell. "Girl pockets are one of the biggest crimes facing America today."

"I'll hold onto them if you want." Jeffrey offered. Skye hesitated but then tried to roll the messy tangle up better before she eventually handed them over. "What are they for?"

"A radio device." Skye's police scanner had been getting in the way during her fights, and she definitely needed a smaller radio to fit with the rest of the equipment on her utility belt. A better earpiece too, now that she thought about it. One that wouldn't fall out of her ear so often.

"Is it a project for school?" Jeffrey was still being conversational.

"No, more like one of my many side projects. I like to do a lot of tinkering." Skye was finding it easier to talk to Jeffrey than to his alter ego. It helped that he wasn't hitting on her. Skye could get used to a less cocky Armageddon. "What about you? What are you going to school for?" It was probably for the best that Skye switched the conversation onto Jeffrey, and it wasn't because she was curious about what Armageddon did in his spare time. Or what he was like.

"Accounting."

Accounting was definitely not a job career that Skye could have seen Armageddon pursuing. "You like math?" Skye felt rather excited. Numbers were something safe the two could talk about for the last five minutes of their walk.

"Not really."

"Than why-"

"It's safe, and a pretty sensible career. It can make a crap ton of money too." Jeffrey's words sounded practiced, as if he had said the words over and over. His voice showed no passion for his career choice. But who was Skye to say anything? "What kind of projects are you working on?" Jeffrey sounded eager to change the subject.

"Little stuff. Radios like I mentioned."

"What about all the kitchen untensils? Are you upgrading them or something?"

"Not really. Those wires are from the microwave, I'm using them for a current project."

"How is the microwave going to work then?"

"I'll use some parts from the toaster."

"Well how's the toaster going to work?"

"It's not. I was trying to steal the power mixer for that, and, well, you heard what Rosie said." Skye said regretfully, "Do you think she'll miss the toaster or the mixer more?"

"Toaster. Everybody uses that more."

"Have you seen the amount of cookies Rosie bakes?"

"Good point. I guess you're pretty screwed either way. Why not just buy the actual parts?"

"Because I can get them for free from one of the appliances in the house." Skye pointed out. Jeffrey laughed at that. His laugh was so warm and sincere and in such a companionable way, Skye smiled along against her will. Jeffrey really wasn't that bad, when she wasn't accidently injuring him or when she actually took the time to talk to him. He was pretty-

No. Skye couldn't do this. She couldn't go there. 'There' strayed into a dangerous territory, one where she accidentally revealed herself to her partner against crime, and so Skye blurted the first thing that came to her head.

"Race you back to the house." As if she was some kind of twelve year old.

...

The more Jeffrey got shunned by Shadow, the more time he spent at the Penderwicks'. It distracted him from the hurt he felt every time Shadow brushed him off. It wasn't as if they had been buddy buddy before, but they had talked a reasonable amount- as long as neither dropped hints of their secret identities. Jeffrey had loved those talks, he adored every second he got to spend with Shadow. Now those seconds were few and far between.

The only positive development in Jeffrey's life at the moment, was that Skye had definitely ever so slightly relaxed around him, sometimes even enough to hold a ten minute long conversation if she was eating something.

That night in particular was welcomingly chaotic at the Penderwick household, as Jane had a whole group of her friends over. The group was such that they'd welcome Jeffrey into the conversation but didn't mind too much if he withdrew a bit. When their topic became focused on whether Shakespeare was actually a talented writer or just someone who had had a knack for relating to a common based audience, Jeffrey slipped away to the kitchen where Rosalind was working out how much money she needed for the pizzas she had ordered.

"Need a hand?"

"No, I've got it, could you do me a favor and go down into the basement and get Skye for me? I need her to pick up the pizzas."

"Are you sure I'm allowed down there." Jeffrey was wary. The basement was Skye's main habitation, and in his mind it was akin to wallowing into a lion's den.

"She won't kill you, Jeffrey." Rosalind seemed amused.

"No, just maim me for life." Jeffrey mumbled under his breath, but he opened the basement door and slipped through it.

Skye wasn't in the basement itself, but the door adjoining to the garage was opened and he could hear clanging from over there; so, it was no mystery as to where the reclusive Penderwick was. Jeffrey took a moment in the basement before he decided to brave Skye.

It was a lot smaller space than Jeffrey had been envisioning. There was just enough room for a small table with a desk lamp and neatly placed drawings and blueprints, the washer and dryer that sat over in the corner, and a low work bench with organized tools and mechanical pieces. Skye was very neat and tidy, something Jeffrey hadn't really associated with the girl whose short hair was always in disarray, as if she was constantly pulling on it in exasperation.

There was one other thing tucked away in the corner. Something large, bulky, and metal. Before Jeffrey got a chance to take a closer look at it, Skye walked in. Jeffrey jumped and Skye froze for a moment as she took in his unexpected presence. She had a pair of small goggles on her face that she slid up to rest on the top of her head so that they messed up her hair even more. Jeffrey had a brief second in which he was struck by how cute she was, before he quickly threw that out and left a blush behind.

Skye didn't say anything; so, Jeffrey spoke first.

"Hi."

Skye nodded tersely, but at least she only looked curious and defensive, not hostile.

"You've got a nice work space down here."

"Thanks."

"What's that in the corner?"

"A time-machine." Skye told him curtly.

"Really?"

"No." Skye's face held traces of amusement now, "What are you doing down here?"

Jeffrey collected himself as he remembered his original mission, "Oh, right. Rosalind sent me down to ask you to pick the pizzas up."

"Why didn't you say so?" Skye snatched up her helmet from the table and sent one of her papers fluttering.

"I got it." Jeffrey stooped and picked it up for her, before he handed it over, his eyes latched onto the page with interest. "What is this?"

Skye snatched the paper away from him, almost frantically, "Nothing. It's nothing. Just some random designing."

"Is that body armor?"

"I...Just...No. It's nothing." Skye looked caught. Jeffrey wanted to ask more, but Skye looked tensed and was eyeing him cagily; so, he shrugged and gave her an easy smile. "Sorry. Didn't mean to snoop, I should probably get upstairs now."

"Yeah." Skye was still watching him, and he could feel her eyes on his back as she...followed him?

Jeffrey glanced back at her.

"Rosie's got the pizza money." Skye avoided his eyes.

...

"Uh-uh. You are not taking that motorcycle." Rosalind snatched Skye's helmet away. "Use the van, Skye."

"But-"

"Iantha?" Rosalind asked for back-up without taking her stern gaze off Skye.

"Please, Skye? You know your father and I don't like you going out on it at night."

"Fine." Skye was disgruntled and took the van keys from Rosalind.

"Take Jeffrey with you too, he can hold onto the pizzas on the way back. You don't mind do you, Jeffrey?"

Skye hoped he did mind, her eyes closed in hopeful anticipation. _Please say no. Please say no._

"No, that's okay with me. I'd be happy to help." Of course his overly-polite butt was happy to help. Skye wanted to glare him down so hard, he would melt through the kitchen tile. She didn't dare so much as frown with Rosalind there though. So, instead she just accepted the money from Rosalind, and jerked with her head in a silent order for Jeffrey to follow her. His expression looked just as reluctant as hers.

...

Not that Armageddon was a horrible person, or even that Skye hated him. She didn't hate him, he was a good partner and he had saved her hide more than once. But then again, it wasn't like Skye was interested in a relationship beyond their work. She wasn't in the justice business to make friends, and his open flirting was a definite no-go in Skye's opinion. But Jeffrey felt nothing like Armageddon and just like Armageddon at the same time. The fact that he had dropped the flattering in his civilian form and that he tried his best to be on good terms no matter how much she shut him down, definitely helped him a lot. And no matter how hard she tried, Skye kept feeling herself get unwillingly drawn in. He was nice to talk to if they were both relaxed and she didn't insult Shadow.

"What were you working on in the garage." There he was, trying to be engaging.

"Just maintenance on my bike. I like to tinker with it."

"I know what you mean. Sometimes I like to strum on an old ukulele I found in my apartment from the owner before me."

Skye gave him an odd look. Right. Because fixing her motorcycle was the same thing as playing a ukulele. That made complete sense.

"I mean it helps me unwind." Jeffrey explained, "It's some mindless fun for me. That's what you meant about your motorcycle, right?"

It _was_ what she had meant, and Skye was rather annoyingly grateful that he had caught that meaning so effortlessly. "Yeah, something like that. You like to play music?"

"I used to. I loved the piano." Jeffrey sounded distant, "But my mother thought it wasn't an important life skill. She sent me off to a military academy, and when I came back, my piano was gone."

"That's just wrong." Skye scowled at the injustice. "She didn't even give you a say in the matter? Who was she to decide what hobbies you want? And for it to be something like music? If anything she should have been happy that you were expressing yourself in a healthy way. No parent should discourage-"

"Skye, it's fine." Jeffrey was smiling, but he also looked rather touched. "I got over it years ago. I've moved on and accepted it."

"Still..." Skye felt a little sheepish at losing her cool, but she couldn't stand such an act of unfairness. "How about now? Have you played since then?"

Jeffrey didn't answer at first and when he did his voice was so soft Skye was tempted to give him all her attention instead of the road.  
"No. It-it wouldn't be the same. I don't know how I would feel if I tried." Jeffrey sounded raw, and Skye felt bad. It was her fault for the bringing up the subject, it was her duty to change it again.

"So the ukulele, huh? Is it hard?"

"Depends on your understanding on music. Do you have a good grasp on the basic fundamentals? Chords and your scales?"

"No. Would you say those are 'instrumental' in knowing what I'm doing?"

Jeffrey's head whipped around so hard, Skye couldn't help grinning in satisfaction at his look of shock.

"Did you-Did you..." Jeffrey floundered, as if trying to grasp the fact that Skye had cracked a joke without a trace of dryness in her tone. "Did _you make a pun?"_

"That dePUNds on your point of view, I suppose." Skye drawled.

"Oh God. That was horrible." Still, Jeffrey couldn't stop laughing, and Skye found it amusing.

"Oh, and what's your chosen form of humor, Mr. Sophistication?"

"Pick-up lines." Jeffrey informed her. Of course. Why hadn't she seen it coming? This was Armageddon after all. Jeffrey must have noticed Skye's expression, because he quickly tacked on. "Not that you have anything to worry about. I only give them to girls I'm interested in."

"Ouch."

"Not that you're not worth being interested in, or anything." Jeffrey realized what he had been implying and hurried to correct himself. "It's just I don't really see you in that way. Not that you're not a nice person-"

"But I'm not a nice person." Skye finished, amused. "No, need to apologize. I'm completely devastated I'll not get to hear your stellar quality lines, but I think I'll be able to cope with not being compared to an angel that just fell from heaven."

* * *

 **I'm thrilled with all the acceptance I got for the first chapter of this story, I was a little nervous initially but I got so obsessed with the idea that I couldn't help myself. Thanks guys.**

 **KoalaLover-ABC-123: Your review was flattering, I'm glad you liked the first chapter so much. Honestly, where there's Jeffrey and Skye concerned there is going to be a lot of frustration. As for the humor, believe it or not I thought about making it more serious and dark...for about two seconds.**

 **GM01: That is high praise indeed, though it would be kind of sad if I couldn't write a superhero universe considering that I've been obsessed with superheroes since I was about six. As always it feels good to be back and having my old friends commenting on my work.**

 **Nijibrush: I gladly accept the title you bestowed upon me; though, you're too kind. Yeah, I've already got like twenty other AU's bumping around in my head right now, including a plot for a rather long complicated story that's going to have to take a back seat for now. And yeah, I feel like these two are kind of the equivalent of Batman and Robin, Skye's dark seriousness getting balanced out by Jeffrey's dorky earnestness. Thanks for the review!**


	3. Chapter 3

It was a surprising but welcome sight to Rosalind when Skye and Jeffrey returned with the pizza. Not because of the pizza of course- though that was a plus. It was how they entered, joking and jostling each other. Jeffrey trying to guard the pizza and Skye managing to slip a slice past him almost effortlessly.

"Are you a pizza? Because I'd take a slice of that."

Rosalind didn't know how to reply to that.

Skye choked on her stolen food. Jeffrey was horrified by his own joke and looked like he wanted to cover his mouth with his hands, he settled for trying to hide behind the stack of pizza boxes he was holding. It had just slipped out, Jeffrey hadn't meant to say the pick-up line out loud. He had been so caught up in the moment, he had forgotten he didn't have Armageddon's mask and hood to hide behind. Rosalind was gaping at him, her hand still outstretched towards Skye for the change back for the pizza. Jeffrey was about to dump the pizzas and just leave, until Skye started shaking silently, and he realized she was laughing of all things.

"That was-That was HORRIBLE!" Skye wheezed helplessly. Her whole face was scrunched up in her amusement, and there was something so intoxicating about her laughter that Jeffrey couldn't help smiling and just watching her. Skye didn't notice, but Rosalind definitely did. She took the pizzas off Jeffrey and gave him a very pointed look. Jeffrey flushed. He had been practically gaping at Skye, he couldn't even imagine what his face had looked like; though, judging by Rosalind's smile it had been pretty bad.

It wasn't like that, Jeffrey wanted desperately to tell Rosalind. He didn't feel like that about Skye. But to say that, that would bring Skye's attention to his gazing, and it wasn't like he could excuse himself by saying he had a crush on Shadow without looking like an idiot. Sure Skye was nice and all, now that she actually took the energy to give him the time of day. And it wasn't like she wasn't pretty, because she was insanely pretty, her eyes were hard to look away from. It was just... Jeffrey couldn't see himself with her, or her even being interested in him. He couldn't fall for her, when his head was with someone else.

"I'll go tell everyone the pizza is here." Jeffrey ducked out of the kitchen, his head low.

...

Jeffrey crept down the alleyway after the thief. It was his third burglar that day, maybe it had made him a tad bit more careless and confident than usual. It was that or his own idiocy at not silencing his phone. No matter where the blame lay. Either way, Jeffrey's phone 'DING'ed very loudly just as he reached the thief.

Unfortunately, for the masked vigilante, this thief appeared to be the overly-paranoid kind that carried a knife. It was almost as if the guy didn't want to get caught.

Jeffrey cursed the fact that the thief had insanely quicker reflexes than him and had reacted faster. The man flashed forward with his knife and managed to cut Jeffrey's forearm. Jeffrey sank to his knees and let out a rather unflattering screech. Lucky for him the thief decided it would be better to run than confront the notorious Armageddon.

Unlucky for the thief, that's when Shadow decided to show up. The thief- his gaze still back to make sure Armageddon wasn't running after him- didn't even see Shadow's casual outstretched foot. The thief tripped and Shadow made quick work finishing him off and tying him up.

Jeffrey managed to stumble to his feet by then, though his arm was throbbing and he felt rather woozy.

"Where do you get so much rope?" He wondered.

"It's my superpower." Shadow said dryly, "I can produce rope at will. Like Spiderman's webbing."

"Really?" Jeffrey wobbled capriciously.

"No." Shadow snorted and then stepped closer. "Don, you okay?"

She sounded worried and Jeffrey felt very flattered. Right before he passed out into her arms.

...

When Jeffrey came to, he was considerably confused and disoriented. Where was he? What was going on? Couldn't whoever had waken him up just let him sleep some more so he wouldn't feel how much his arm hurt?

Wait. His arm! And Shadow! Had he passed out? He had passed out hadn't he? Jeffrey sat up and immediately felt like he was going to pass out. He didn't resist when Skye pushed him back down.

Wait. Skye?!

"Easy there, Mr. Super. Give me a chance to patch you up first."

"Wh-What?"

"Shadow dropped you off here after you passed out." Skye opened up a first aid kit, "Honestly, I'm kind of surprised you've gone so long without getting hurt. Shadow is always complaining about you."

"What's going on? Why am I here? Who are you?" Jeffrey felt very proud of his last attempt. Shadow couldn't accuse him of not trying to keep his identity a secret. "You know Shadow?"

"Me and Shadow are old friends." Skye started to clean his cut, ignoring his hisses of pain, "Didn't you ever wonder where she gets all her gear?"

Yes. He had, but he always assumed she had some kind of black market source, not a grouchy, recluse, inventor on tab.

"You know, I've actually met you before." Skye's voice broke into Jeffrey's muddled thoughts.

Crap! Crap! Did she know who he was? He still had his mask and hood on, had she been able to tell that-

"You asked me for directions once."

Jeffrey almost let out a huge sigh of relief.

"O-Oh yeah? I-I don't really remember that. Sorry."

Skye grunted and Jeffrey watched suspiciously as she began to sanitize a mean looking needle.

"So...you said you're friends with Shadow?"

"Yeah, we go way back." Skye seemed to be amused by some inside joke. Jeffrey's mind still felt loopy and staggered. He had no grasp on his current situation whatsoever. He had no clue what was going on. Apparently, he knew Skye and Shadow, and the two girls not only knew each other, but were also friends? Jeffrey snorted at the idea. What did they do, hold contests to see who could be the most silent and unapproachable?

"What are you doing?" Jeffrey eyed the needle Skye was holding.

"Your cut needs stitches." Skye explained.

"What! You're giving me stitches?" Jeffrey yanked his arm away from her, "Are you even capable-"

"Who do you think stitches Shadow up when she gets hurt?" Skye crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Shadow doesn't get hurt." Jeffrey protested, "Nobody gets close enough to her to hurt her."

"How would you know?" Skye demanded. "She literally jumps off of buildings, goes up against idiots twice her size, and pulls people out of burning wreckage. You're trying to tell me that she gets out of each of those situations unscathed?"

Jeffrey was confounded and struggled to come back with an argument, "She's...she's..."

"Invincible? Untouchable?" Skye snorted, "She's no Superman, Wonderboy, and even Superman had his weaknesses."

"How do I even know that you are friends with Shadow?" Jeffrey accused, "For all I know you're trying to make my arm worse. Why wouldn't Shadow just drop me off at the ER?"

"Do you have a reasonable explanation for the ER nurses as to why Shadow of all people was dropping you off? Do you really think they wouldn't hesitate to unmask you? They'd call the cops down on you first thing. What would you tell them?"

"That I was mugged."

"Even getting rescued by Shadow is enough for the cops to detain you for twenty four hours, let alone the fact that you're literally in your Armageddon outfit."

That was right. Jeffrey was still struggling to remember that Skye didn't know who he was.

"I'm not letting you touch me, until you prove that you know Shadow." Honestly, it wasn't that Jeffrey didn't believe her. Shadow was the last thing he'd seen before he had passed out and he knew she wouldn't give him to anyone she didn't trust. It was just...this was Skye Penderwick of all people. A self-declared unbeliever of the beliefs Shadow and Armageddon declared. Not to mention the fact that he knew her. It was her of all people who Shadow not only trusted, but was also close friends with? Someone he knew?

"Fine." Skye rolled her eyes and got to her feet. Jeffrey propped himself up on his good arm to watch her, only to realize he was in the Penderwick's basement. It shouldn't have been too surprising, this was Skye's main hole after all.

Skye had gone over to her worktable and switched on the desk lamp. Jeffrey stared at her, trying to put all his facts together. Piece them together enough to make a clear picture. The blonde, silent, Penderwick who insisted that Shadow and Armageddon's motives couldn't be supported. The suspicious, protective, Penderwick who had only just started warming up to his other identity after two months. She was friends with the strong, silent, Shadow. The cautious, defensive, Shadow...Okay, that actually kind of made sense. They were really, very similar now that he thought about it.

"Here." Skye plopped back down next to him, her arms full. "First prototype for her grappling gun, second version of her radio earpiece, here's a blueprint for her bulletproof vest.."

"She has a bulletproof vest?"

"You don't." Skye raised her eyebrows in surprise. She poked Jeffrey's ribs, as if to check. Jeffrey snickered unwillingly. He was super ticklish.

"Do you have anything at all for protection?" Skye sounded a mixture of disapproval and worry, "I'll have to fix that. You could use a pair of gauntlets too. But first things first, that needs to be stitched up. You believe me now?"

"Fine." Jeffrey collapsed back on the pillow she had provided him, "Is it going to hurt?"

"Yes."

"Way to sugarcoat that."

"I don't do sugarcoating. At least you know to expect it." Skye threaded her needle, "Please try not to shriek, I don't need my family to know you're here."

"You're embarrassed to be associated with me?" Jeffrey teased.

"Exactly." Skye said seriously. Jeffrey's face must have shown some disappointment, because Skye snorted. "I was kidding, Super Dork."

"Yeah, well your kidding face and voice are exactly like your 'I despise you with my whole heart' face."

"Good." Skye shot back and began to stitch his cut up.

Jeffrey had to grit his teeth together. Without any numbing in the area, his arm was screaming in pain. Skye was quick though, Jeffrey gave her that. She knew exactly what she was doing, and had it completely sewn in five minutes.

"Don't exert yourself for awhile." Skye warned him, handing him some water and aspirin. "You don't want to pull the stitches out too soon."

"Not even as an excuse to see you again?" Jeffrey managed weakly, accepting the water gratefully.

Skye shut her med kit shut with a snap, and rolled her eyes at him. Jeffrey took that as a good sign though. When Skye rolled her eyes it was because she didn't have a good enough comeback.

"You'll have to come back soon enough, anyway." Skye told him, "You've had enough excitement for tonight, but you'll have to swing by later; so, I can measure you up for some body armor. What kind of idiot goes into a fight without protection?"

"Wait, you were serious about that?" Jeffrey blinked in surprise, "You'd do that for me?"

"You help Shadow out, might as well have the equipment to keep up with. her. I should have had you over sooner." Skye shrugged. "Now get out of here. If I know my older sister she'll be calling me up to supper in thirty seconds."

"What? I don't get a lollipop for being a good patient?" Jeffrey pouted.

Skye sighed, but went over to her desk and pulled a Snickers bar out of the draw. "Catch. You could use some sugar after swooning like that, anyway,"

"Who wouldn't swoon in the presence of Shadow." Jeffrey shrugged, unwrapping the bar gratefully.

Skye seemed flustered by his comment for some unexplainable reason. Jeffrey had to be wrong, because they were interrupted by the basement door opening and in the next instant Skye looked the same.

"Skye! Supper's ready!" Rosalind called down.

"Coming!" Skye yelled back, before turning to Jeffrey. "That's your cue to leave, Super Klutz."

"I wasn't even here." Jeffrey winked and hurried out through the garage.

...

Jeffrey being Armageddon muddled everything up. Gave each side a different meaning and complicated everything ten times more. Armageddon was Armageddon, except when he was Jeffrey.

Armageddon had a crush on Shadow. A literal crush. Skye had always assumed he was joking, until he pretty much declared his feelings for her to Skye.

Jeffrey at the most only tolerated Skye. He had literally complained about her to her alter ego.

Everything was messy. Skye should tell him. It would clean everything up. He could get over Shadow without Skye rejecting him. He wouldn't care about her that way, if he knew who she really was. He would be disappointed of course. His flawless hero was just a stubborn grump.

Skye was going to tell him. When he showed up so she could take his measurements, she was determined to come clean. She would tell him who she was first, and then drop the bomb. Tell him she had figured out who he was. She meant to tell him, it was just...there never was a prime opportunity.

"Do you have any weapons in mind?" Skye asked Armageddon as she measured the distance between his elbow and wrist. "Like a tazer or something?"

"Who needs weapons, when I've got these guns?" Armageddon flexed his muscles and grinned.

Skye gave him a look and that was enough to shut him up for all of two minutes.

"So, you're best buddies with Shadow." Armageddon prodded as Skye turned to jot down his measurements, "What's that like?"

She could have said something, could have told him right there, but instead she said: "None of your business."

Skye busied herself drawing up a design for his guantlets. Armageddon peered over her shoulder, curious.

"What color are they going to be?"

"Forest green." They would match his eyes and still be dark enough to help him stick to the shadows.

"Why green?"

"Why not? What's wrong with green?" Skye demanded, "Green's my favorite color."

That seemed to shut Armageddon up for some reason, and Skye was the one to break the silence a few minutes later.

"I need your shirt and waist size for your vest and belt."

"Belt?"

"To hold your grappling hook and tazer." Skye told him, "Honestly don't you even want to try to keep up with Shadow?"

"It's just...I don't want to put you through a lot of trouble. You're doing so much already." Armageddon rubbed the back of his neck. A Jeffrey gesture.

"I'll send you a bill." Skye lied, but it did enough to quell Armageddon's protests, and he was willing to part with the information.

"Is that it?" he asked.

"Yes. Swing by next Wednesday. Your gauntlets should be done by then."

"Thanks." Armageddon smiled, "Not that I'm willing to part company with you, but I've got an appointment to make."

Jeffrey was having supper with Penderwicks fifteen minutes from now. Knowing Mr. Punctual, he'd be there ten minutes early. Skye's last chance was right then.

"Hey, Superboy?"

"What?"

Skye floundered. How? How do you tell someone something that big?

"It's...difficult...being 'buddies with Shadow'."

"I'll say." Armageddon agreed, and then he left.

Skye huffed. Well, that went well.

...

"I've got the ice cream, Iantha." Jeffrey called as he walked into the Penderwick's kitchen without knocking.

"Oh thanks, Jeffrey. You didn't have to bring anything. You're pretty much part of the family at this point." Iantha laughed.

"Nah, I insist. You want it in the freezer like usual?"

"That'd be great."

"More ice cream?" Jane asked, walking in, "What kind did you get this time?"

"I settled for mocha chocolate chip."

"Skye's favorite." Jane commented, "She'll be excited. You'd better hide it well or it'll be gone before supper."

"Just like all the Snickers bars." Rosalind sighed, closing a draw. "How on earth does she eat so much without gaining a pound?"

Jeffrey felt like laughing. How Skye went about not gaining weight was a pretty tame secret compared to associating with Shadow and Armageddon on a regular basis.

"What's for supper tonight?" He asked, helping Jane set the table.

"Meatloaf. It's just about done too." Rosalind peered into the oven, "Batty, do you want to go get Skye for me?"

"I'll get her." Jeffrey offered, placing the last plate and trotting over to the basement. He didn't notice Jane and Rosalind exchanging looks behind him.

Skye was still at her desk down in the basement, her back to the stairs as Jeffrey walked down. He caught a bit of what she was muttering.

"'Hard being buddies with Shadow.'? Stupid. Stupid. What's that even supposed to mean?"

Was she beating herself up over what she had said to him when he left? It was kinda funny, Jeffrey had done the same towards Shadow once or twice.

She must have heard or sensed him behind her, because she shut up and called back. "What do you want, Jane?"

Jeffrey was torn. She thought he was Jane. He was going to startle her if he said something, and startling Skye was never a good thing. However, it didn't matter because his silence was a guarantee to make Skye turn around.

Skye shut down immediately as soon as she saw it was him. Jeffrey was disappointed. He thought they had become friends over getting the pizza, but it looked like he was wrong. Skye was still suspicious around him.

"Um...supper's ready." Jeffrey jerked a thumb towards upstairs and then shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Cool. Thanks." Skye ran a hand through her hair absent-mindedly.

"What are you working on?" As if he didn't know.

"Death ray."

"Really?" Jeffrey hoped she wasn't planning on giving him that as a weapon.

"No." Skye looked amused.

Jeffrey made a face at Shad-no. Skye.

Her joke was so similar to Shadow's that he was thrown for a second. That was the second time Skye had said something like Shadow that day. Her favorite color was green. Shadow's favorite color was green too.

Jeffrey shrugged it off when he noticed Skye's curious stare. After all, Skye and Shadow were friends. They were bound to have the same interests. They were both sarcastic too, so the joke was pretty understandable.

"I'm working on a gift for a friend." Skye said at last.

Jeffrey perked up. He was Skye's friend! Well, Armageddon was at least, but still with Skye that was pretty major.

"Cool." He said. Mentally, he decided to visit Skye more often as Armageddon.

...

"I told you to not come back until Wednesday." Skye gave Armageddon a look of annoyance. "I'm not done your gauntlets yet."

"Oh, my bad." Armageddon slapped his head, "I thought you said Monday."

"Monday sounds nothing like Wednesday."

"They both have 'day' on the end." Armageddon pointed out and sat down in her swivel chair "Come on, didn't you miss me?"

"No." Skye shoved him out of her way, so she could grab a screwdriver from her workbench. Armageddon only spun around and around in her swivel chair with his stupid Jeffrey grin plastered on.

"Go bother Shadow or something."

"I couldn't find her." Armageddon sighed. "I haven't seen her since my arm got cut."

"Speaking of which, I've got to take those stitches out."

"Will it hurt?" Armageddon held his arm close to him and eyed Skye's scissors.

"No, and I'm not sugar-coating." Skye anticipated his next question, "I'm just snipping the thread and pulling it out. The most you'll feel is a little tugging."

Skye had given herself plenty of stitches since she had become Shadow. Before that she had been a pretty frequent guest at the ER.

Armageddon let her take hold of his arm and he watched curiously while Skye took out the stitches.

"Anybody ask you about them?"

"Nah, I've been wearing long sleeves in public. Not that there's a lot of people who would ask me anyway." Armageddon sounded just like the bitter Jeffrey in the car when they had gone to pick up the pizzas.

"No family around?" Skye began to pull the thread.

"No, Mother doesn't live too close to Boston. I never met my dad, but if he never cared to see me then he couldn't have been a good dad anyways, right?"

"Jeez. That sucks."

"It's not as bad as I make it out to be." Armageddon quickly amended, "I mean I've got Shadow now. And you of course."

"Wow. I'm flattered. I actually rank high enough to be on level with Shadow?" Skye tossed the thread from Armageddon's stitches into her trashcan, "Come on over to my bench, might as well try on the gauntlet frame I've got to be sure it fits."

"Wow! This is freakin' cool." Armageddon admired the gauntlet as Skye slipped it onto his forearm and adjusted it with a discerning eye.

"Wait til it's done." She recommended, "It's definitely not even passable yet. You'll just have to be more careful up against the goons for now, Don."

Armageddon stiffened next to her, "Don?"

It took Skye a second to realize she wasn't Shadow at that moment. And Shadow was the only one who called Armageddon, 'Don'.

"Yeah. Don...like Don Juan! Because you're a terrible flirt?" Skye was impressed with her own quick thinking.

Armageddon pondered her excuse for a moment, before finally shrugging. "I'll take it and own that title with pride."

Skye was relieved.

...

Jeffrey had to force himself to not go see Skye as Armageddon until Wednesday, but that didn't stop him from racing over to the Penderwick's right after class was out. He tried to tell himself that it was just because he was excited to see how the gauntlets had turned out.

When Skye opened the basement door she was holding a blowtorch and wearing a welder's helmet. It must have been hot working with the gun because she had dropped the flannel that she usually wore in favor of a plain black tee, and Jeffrey realized for the first time that Skye was insanely ripped. It had always been obvious that she was in good shape of course, but in short sleeves he could see just how well-formed her biceps were.

"Wow, I wouldn't want to go up against you in a fight."

"Huh?" Skye flipped up the visor of her helmet to give Jeffrey a confused look, and then followed his gesture towards her arms. "Oh...I...do a lot of push-ups?"

"Yeah, I can see that." Jeffrey laughed, "Shadow's got nothing on you in comparison."

Skye scowled and hurried to pull a black hoodie on. The black really high-lighted her hair and drew attention to how her helmet had tousled it. For the nth time, Jeffrey absent-mindedly noted how attractive Skye really was even when she was frowning at him.

"Are you planning on standing there all day, or are you going to try these on?" Skye grumbled at Jeffrey.

"To be honest, I'm a little intimidated now that I know you could throw me across the room." Jeffrey grinned but hurried over.

"As if it would take a lot to throw you." Skye muttered. Jeffrey decided to be the bigger person and ignore her insult. That and he couldn't think of decent retort.

"What kind of material is this?" Jeffrey marveled stroking the gauntlet on Skye's workbench, "It's feels light but super strong."

"It's a type of Kevlar. I've strengthened it though; so, it's about military grade quality. Well better than military grade. Your vest is going to be the same material but slim enough to wear under your hoodie without creating any bulk or extra weight." Skye fitted one of the gauntlets onto his arm and cast a critical eye over her handiwork, "Bear in mind that these only cover as far as the back of your hand, your fingers are still exposed so watch how you throw your punches. Don't want you breaking some fingers."

"You've got a stronger material than the body armor they use in the military? Why don't you sell any of your ideas or get some patents?"

"Well, that'd prove a connection between me and Shadow. Besides it'd be hard for someone like me to find a big enough bigwig to pitch my stuff to. Believe it or not a lot of people don't want to admit that a nineteen year old girl can come up with a better compound then they can."

"You've got to be the biggest genius I've ever met." Jeffrey gazed at her in wonder.

"As if that's a compliment. I doubt you regularly socialize with the likes of geniuses.

"GAR...Too many big words for a jock like me to understand!" Jeffrey clutched his head, playing along.

Skye tried to make an apathetic snort, but she couldn't mask her own grin and Jeffrey was suddenly struck breathless. What? No no no no no no. This was Skye Penderwick of all people. No way could she paralyze him just by smiling of all things. She was stubborn, socially-awkward, sarcastic, and definitely not interested in him.

The whole situation reeked of exact similarities to his and Shadow's relationship. Jeffrey groaned internally. Why hadn't he seen it earlier?

He definitely had a type.

* * *

 **And I'm back with overly oblivious Jeffrey. The guy's hopeless I swear.**

 **KoalaLover-ABC-123: I'm so excited that you caught the reference. Yes, I have watched "Miraculous Ladybug" and I love it dearly. It's one of my inspirations. Jeffrey's new green gauntlets are a throwback to my favorite Green Lantern. Skye is influenced by Captain Marvel, Dr. Strange, and most obviously Batman. Jeffrey is influenced by Spider-Man, Tim Drake's Robin, Gambit, Ms. Marvel, and of course Chat Noir. TBH tho, this story is heavily inspired by a comic I drew when I was ten. Starring Smasher and Ribbons (Smasher was strong and Ribbons could turn into a ribbon for some weird reason). I'm glad you like the story so far.**

 **GM01: I'm so happy you loved chapter two, it was my favorite to write so far. I love that you and Nijibrush both called me out on the puns. You guys know me way too well, and I love you all the more for it. Thanks for sticking by me however wild of a ride I make the story.**

 **Nijibrush: I'm still laughing really, because I feel like you and GM01 were probably rolling your eyes when you guys read the puns. GM didn't hesitate to point them out either, but you're absolutely right. It's not an authentic Lady Kick Your Butt story until I throw some puns in there. Thank God you still put up with them though, cause I'd definitely miss your reviews. I'm happy you're enjoying yourself so far.**


	4. Chapter 4

Jeffrey had to give himself a reality check every time he hung around Shadow or Skye. He had to watch what he said, had to tread with care. They were jumbling up in his head, and if he didn't watch himself, they'd blend together or overlap. He hated himself for it too. How could he claim to be falling for either? Was it just the image of them that he liked? Maybe it was just the parts of Skye that reminded him of Shadow that made him get lost around her...or vice versa?

But that couldn't be true, because the more Jeffrey hung around Skye. The more he got hung up on the little nerdy side tangents she'd ramble about, or how she would turn the littlest thing into a competition. How she produced snacks out of thin air. Once or twice Jeffrey came upon her sound asleep in the strangest places. Slumped over her table. Sitting crosslegged on the floor in front of her worktable. Once she had even fallen asleep mid-conversation with him. They were all incredibly small things about her that made his heart surge.

As for Shadow, it was honestly the big things about her that overwhelmed Jeffrey. How she was always in the thickest of a fight, but also keeping an eye on his back no matter what. How she stood for justice when no-one else would. The deep, meaningful conversations they'd have at ten o'clock at night, or the way she'd shake her head and say a warning: "DON."

Jeffrey was a big mess. Well a bigger mess than usual. Okay, maybe he was always a big mess no matter what, but the complexity of the situation was starting to give him a headache. Of course that could always be Shadow or Skye making his head spin.

"You look even more terrible than usual, Don." Shadow commented, taking a seat next to him. "I could practically sense your angst a block away."

"Thanks." Jeffrey kept himself tight-lipped. Until he did a double-take. "Are-are you eating ice cream? In the middle of the night? When it's only thirty degrees out?!"

"We playing twenty questions all of a sudden?" Shadow's hoodie and baseball cap were pulled even lower over her face to compensate for her missing bandana. "I'm starving. That drug bust took forever, I missed supper, and kicking butt takes a lot of energy. Want some? I brought an extra spoon."

Great. Now Shadow was producing snacks out of nowhere just like Skye. Another point to add to their collection of similarities.

"What flavor?" Jeffrey sighed gloomily as if asking the method of his death.

"Mocha chocolate chip." Shadow said, her mouth full. "It's my favorite."

Oh for crying out loud! They even had the same favorite flavor ice cream!? How was it so possible that two different people could be that much alike?!

Unless... Was Jeffrey looking at this from the wrong angle? What if they weren't two different people? What if-.

Jeffrey inhaled sharply at the idea, and lapsed into a choking fit.

"Swallowed a bug there?" Shadow pounded his back a little too enthusiastically and unsympathetically. "See that's where a bandana comes in handy. It filters everything out and protects your identity from the goons."

"We both know you're obsessed with protection." Jeffrey attempted as carefully as he could and with a very strained voice.

"I wouldn't say I'm obsessed. You're just overly careless. I mean really? You went this whole time without a single piece of protective gear? That should have been your first priority, making sure you had the right gear for the job."

It was a pretty old rant that Jeffrey was used to hearing, but not from Shadow. He got it from Skye almost every time he protested that maybe she was getting a little too carried away with the gadgets.

It had to be her. Why else was everything starting to make so much sense? The lies about not supporting Shadow's cause. The same joke from both identities. The same favorite color. The fact that Skye had been unphased that day when he asked for directions. The way they had been in tandem playing basketball. She had called him Don. She had literally jumped on top of the refrigerator and vaulted to the top of a tree without any trouble. What normal person did that sort of thing?!

"I've got to run." Jeffrey leaped to his feet, startling Shadow. Or Skye. "Um... I just remembered that I've got this homework for my... professor. See you! Bye!"

Jeffrey didn't hear his partner's confused goodbye. He was too busy sorting through all his evidence.

There was no other possible explanation, all the evidence pointed to the obvious: Skye was Shadow. Shadow was Skye, it could be no-one else. Which meant only one thing. Jeffrey stopped up short and felt like hitting himself over his own head with a semi.

Jeffrey wasn't crushing on two different people. He was just head over heels for the most complicated, the most sarcastic, and the most terse person in the galaxy.

Why did it seem like his problems had just multiplied instead of decreased?

...

Late nights would be the death of Skye. If Armageddon's flirting didn't get her first that was. Though, she had to admit that she rather missed it when he didn't show up for an entire week. Her sister's were bemoaning the fact that Jeffrey hadn't been by for awhile either. There was something off with him, but Skye had long since accepted the fact that she didn't have mind-reading abilities and had rather passively decided to leave her partner be and let him broach the subject. His penchant for running his mouth would guarantee that she'd know what was wrong soon enough. If not as Shadow than as Skye.

Skye just hadn't thought he'd wake her up from blissful sleep in order to do so.

"Skye...skye."

Skye slammed her head on the underside of the Penderwick's minivan. It was a very effective way of waking up.

"Sorry! Oh God, I swear I didn't mean for that to happen. I thought you would have heard me walk in."

Skye rolled out from under the car and squinted up at Jeffrey's horrified expression. "I'm fine. It's my fault anyway. I fell asleep."

"...Under a car?"

"You'd be surprised. It's not as uncomfortable as it seems." Skye rubbed her forehead and amended her statement. "Well, when you're not slamming your head on its undercarriage it's not uncomfortable. You should try it sometime."

What was she even saying now? Skye had no idea and yet she couldn't stop rambling. She blamed it on her just awakened, confused state. "Not that I would give it a five-star rating, but it gets the job done if you're tired enough. Hah, TIREd. Get it?"

Jeffrey was grinning and doing his best not to laugh. Skye was finally able to collect herself.

"Anyway. How can I help you?" Skye did her best to at least appear composed, even if she didn't really feel it. "Did Rosalind send you?"

"No, I came of my own volition. I haven't seen you in awhile, and I guess I thought I'd say hi." Jeffrey was struggling. "So...Hi?"

"Hi."

"How are you?"

"I've got a rather painful headache, but otherwise I feel fine." It was Skye's turn to be amused and she was glad of it.

"Right, right. Sorry." Jeffrey winced, "Um...I guess I wanted to see if you wanted to play catch or something. Ben and Batty have homework. Jane said she's too busy and that I should ask you."

Of course she had.

"I mean I get it if you don't want to." Jeffrey sounded even more cautious and strained than usual. "It's fine. I'll just go..."

"Sure." Skye interrupted him, half out of sympathy. What the other half was she had no idea. She took the mitt that Jeffrey held out to her and tried to figure out why he made a strangled noise when her fingers brushed his. "Want to go into the backyard? I'm afraid there's not a whole lot of room down here."

Jeffrey started and unfroze from where he had been rooted. He rushed to follow her out of the garage.

He was acting weirder than usual. Skye did her best to compensate, but she was terrible at small-talk. She had enough trouble as it was trying to catch Jeffrey's wild and off-target throws.

"Is...there something bothering you." Skye asked him finally as Jeffrey joined her in staring at the ball stuck in the gutter of the Penderwick's house.

"Why do you ask?" Jeffrey fidgeted.

"Maybe because the house was behind you and I was all the way in front of the fence over there. I'm certainly hoping that your aim isn't that atrocious; though, the past fifteen minutes would prove me wrong."

"Sorry." Jeffrey collapsed on the grass and tossed his mitt aside in resignation. "I've got a lot on my mind right now..."

Skye hesitated before slowly lowering herself next to him; albeit, she left at least five feet of space between the two of them. She didn't even bother asking Jeffrey if he wanted to talk about it, and wasn't surprised when he finally spoke up.

"Have you ever liked someone?"

Why on earth was he asking her of all of people?

"No. I tend to hate everyone I see on sight." Skye told him behind a barrier of sarcasm.

"That's not what I meant." Jeffrey groaned. He fell backwards while simultaneously flinging an arm over his eyes. "I...I meant have you ever liked someone so much it hurts? And just when you thought you knew them, you see a whole new side of them that makes you fall for them even more?"

Jeffrey was peering at her from under his arm, but also trying to make it seem like he wasn't. "But than you realize it doesn't matter anyway, because you don't exactly have a chance with that person?"

"Can't say that I have." Skye cleared her throat gruffly. He meant Shadow, and he didn't even realize that Shadow was also the girl that he barely got along with as it was. The girl who was also trying to not looked crushed by his inability to get over a meaningless infatuation. A girl he was barely even friends with. How was Skye supposed to tell him who she was now?

Jeffrey's shoulders slumped and his eyes closed as if he had given up. When he did speak up, Skye could barely make out his words, "Yeah, that sounds about right."

"Cheer up." Skye sounded more stern than she did like she was trying to boost his spirits. "Nobody's that perfect, there's probably a whole side to her that you've never seen. You know, maybe she'd disappoint you. She can't be all that she...seems."

"I almost wish." Jeffrey said solemnly.

...

It didn't matter who he was -Armageddon or Jeffrey- Skye didn't feel the same as him. His feelings weren't reciprocated.

Jeffrey was running down Boston's streets, hoping to lose himself in its noise. He should have thrown on his disguise before he started off. It was more freeing and distracting to move about as Armageddon. Of course that would have put him at risk of running into Shadow.

It wasn't even as if he could be upset with her either, Skye/Shadow. She treated both sides of the mask the exact same, even if she was slightly more careful around him as just Jeffrey. It was his own fault really.

Jeffrey wished he had a better way of expressing himself than just working out. For the nth time, he felt resentment towards his mother for just throwing him into a military school. For not caring what he wanted. For doing to him just what she had hated her own father for.

Jeffrey hated loops and yet he kept finding himself in the middle of one. His life was on repeat. Here he was an adult and still trying to shape up his life to his mother's expectations. Here he was falling in love with the same girl twice, and too scared to do more that flirt.

Running exhausted his body but not his mind. Nothing challenged him in a thrilling way, not since he had given up on music all those years ago. As soon as that thought struck Jeffrey he changed course and ran all the way to Boston's City Hall Plaza. He didn't check his speed or slow down until he reached what he had been looking for.

Jeffrey collapsed on the bench in front of the small upright piano with the words "Play me. I'm yours" written on it. He didn't give himself a chance to breathe or change his mind, he brought his hands to the keyboard and played the first thing that came to his head.

Chopsticks. But he didn't stick to that for long. He switched around, fiddling with chords and getting a feel for which keys were sticking. Slowly, the piano lessons he had had came back to him and he began to formulate several familiar tunes, along with a solid plan.

After all it wasn't exactly decent to hide that he knew Shadow's secret identity, especially when she was so adamant he didn't learn it in the first place. It wouldn't be easy coming right out and saying it either; so, he needed to play it safe. He should reveal himself to her first, but he also couldn't do that without her refusing or getting upset.

The only logical solution was to hang around Shadow and Skye even more than usual and drop a whole bunch of hints. Maybe they'd become best friends, it seemed as if she was beginning to accept him in both identities. If she just happened to "accidentally" figure out who he was it wouldn't be any fault of his.

It was a good plan. Stressful though. Jeffrey paused to lay his forehead against the top of the piano, and did his best to ignore the stares of those walking by. He needed to get his own piano.

...

Skye had a plan. A very solid and cohesive plan. Telling Jeffrey (a.k.a Armageddon a.k.a one of the most annoying people in the world) that she was Shadow was proving to be more and more difficult with every passing day. Skye wasn't prone to procrastination unless it dealt with a situation in the department of emotions and tact. But with this plan she could essentially follow through with better damage control and less friendship loss. This would minimize the amount of time it took Jeffrey to get over his intial disappointment.

Skye tended to sound a lot like a lawyer in her head whenever she reasoned with herself. Her aforementioned plan was far more simple than her thoughts were inclined to sound.

Simply put, Skye's plan was this: She'd drop very obvious clues that would hint at her true alias. Not only that though, she'd work on downplaying her Shadow act. She'd drop whatever trait it was that Jeffrey was over analyzing (Skye had no idea what that was. She was ten times more congenial in her civilian form.), and she would work to make herself more...likeable. She'd try to be someone that wouldn't make Jeffrey too upset when he figured it out. Not that she really cared what he thought of her anyway of course.

Only people with low confidence or crushes cared about what other people thought about them. Skye cared about the inward state of people. Which was why she found Jeffrey annoying no matter what he looked like on the outside. He was absolutely nothing more than a nuisance.

Well, not to say he was a terrible person. He wasn't of course, and Skye could say that she sometimes enjoyed his company. He was funny and just gullible enough that she could best him in a quip. He was kind of intelligent too, in that he had some good comebacks. And he put some good strategies forward as Armageddon too. Skye had to admit that sometimes planning was a good idea instead of jumping straight into a fight.

Still he was a pretty oblivious idiot. Skye was certain it was going to take a ton of hints to get him to reach a realization.

...

November that year decided that if it was going out it was going to go out giving every one the cold shoulder. Everyone was bundling up twice as much to keep the biting air out. Even Shadow had switched out her bandana for a thick black scarf and her baseball cap for a camouflage beanie. She talked about her-"No! She meant Skye's" new project, something to do with a heating system installed in the gauntlets and additional body armor. Jeffrey asked her why she didn't just make a full Iron Man suit. She actually seemed to consider his proposal seriously.

"No." Shadow shook her said regretfully, "At least not until I-Skye comes up with a strong enough power source. Maybe a jet pack first. Small steps you know?"

"...I was kidding. You're not serious about the jet pack are you? It sounds cool but also incredibly dangerous." Jeffrey frowned.

"...of course not. Ha ha. Just a joke. Got you so good." Shadow mumbled and chuckled weakly. "Skye would never do something that risky."

"You kidding?" Jeffrey watched Shadow carefully, "That is exactly something Skye would do. You are guys are so alike it's like you're the same person."

The thing about Shadow was that you really couldn't tell what her reaction to things were unless she said something, because her entire face was covered. Jeffrey was beginning to squirm, because all she was doing was staring.

"I'm sorry, I can't take you seriously with the mask." Shadow said at last. "You look even worse than usual."

"The mask is cool!" Jeffrey protested and tugged on it self-consciously, accidentally pulling the ski mask down too low so that his eyes got covered. "And my face is always the first thing to freeze. I've got to protect these dashing features you know."

Shadow made a muffled noise that suspiciously sounded like a cackle of ironic laughter.

"Like you're one to talk, you're wearing cargo pants." Jeffrey said indignantly.

"Cargo pants are very practical. Look at all the pockets. See this ones for my lock-picking tool kit. This one's got my screwdriver kit. This one has got a small handy book on physics for light reading. This one's got my notebook. This one has my wrench kit. This one's got my bolt cutters." Shadow pulled out a very large pair of bolt cutters, that there was no way she had been able to fit in the small pocket on the side of her pants. Shadow unzipped one last pouch. "And this is where I keep my snacks. Want a Snickers?"

"How on earth do you walk around with all that gear?!"

"That's only the right leg. I also gave a hacksaw, handsaw, butterfly knife, and a machete on my left-side. The machete is a pain to pull out so I won't bother. The bungee cord is wrapped around my waist."

"Seriously? You don't even look bulky."

"Practice. I steal a lot of food from the kitchen; so, I'm very good at smuggling items."

If Jeffrey hadn't known Shadow was Skye, he certainly would have gathered it from her rather incriminating description. He'd have to be an idiot to not see it. She really was getting a trifle careless.

"All I have is my dangerous good looks, witty charm, and-"

"An inflated ego?" Shadow interrupted, "I know. That's why you're useless."

"I was going to say astounding modesty." Jeffrey sniffed, finally adjusting his ski mask so that he could see. Shadow snorted.

"C'mon there's a car chase in progress." She stood up cocking her head in a way that Jeffrey had come to recognize as her listening to her ear piece. "They'll be passing by in two minutes. I suggest we hurry to meet them."

"And how do you suggest to stop a speeding car?"

"We'll figure it out when we get there."

"For someone who assembles a lot of gear in preparation for everything you tend jump blindly into dangerous situations."

"Blindly?" Shadow cocked her head to consider this. "No, that sounds more like you."

"Wh-"

Shadow yanked the ski mask back down over his eyes, and ran off chuckling.

...

Jeffrey really was getting worse and worse at pretending he wasn't secretly a vigilante. Or at least to Skye he was. Maybe it was just because she knew him in both forms that she really noticed it at all. Maybe it was just that she had begun to observe him in hyper-detail of late. Purely scientifically of course, because...she needed to observe the best way to drop hints of course.

"Hi Skye! Back home from school?" Jeffrey glanced over from where he was peering into the refrigerator. Skye felt odd seeing their positions switched, and also suspicious that he was going to take the plate of leftovers that she had been looking forward to. Fortunately, her motorcycle helmet hid all that.

"What's that face for?" Jeffrey scratched his chin absent-mindedly, he needed to shave. Skye realized that she had left her motorcycle helmet's visor up, and grimaced as Jeffrey took the chicken.

"Nothing. Are you eating that cold?"

"Microwave's not working for some 'unexplainable' reason." Jeffrey said with his mouth full. "Rosie is very suspicious you had something to do with that."

"I left specific instructions explaining how to use it." Skye scowled.

Jeffrey looked at the post it note stuck to the microwave door. "'Hit it'. I dunno, it seems kind of vague."

"Not if you read it in Skynese." Jane sauntered in with a mound of papers, "Translated the note literally means-" She motioned to Skye to finish.

"Hit it." Skye stated obviously.

"See?" Jane set her stack down and sent some several pages flying everywhere. "Skye, you know what Iantha and Daddy say about wearing the helmet in the house."

Skye took her helmet off grudgingly and ran a hand through her hair in a vigorous effort to fix it. When she turned to set her helmet on the side table next to the door, she caught Jeffrey staring with his mouth agape.

"What?" She demanded grumpily. Jeffrey hastily shoved food in his mouth.

"Nothing." He stepped on Jane's foot. She appeared to be grinning conspiratorially. "What's with the paper, Jane?"

"It's my new story idea!" Jane beamed.

"That's just the idea? You have like three hundred pages there."

"It's the first four chapters." Jane explained sticking her tongue out at Skye. "Aren't you going to ask me what it's about?"

"No."

"What's it about?" Jeffrey asked dutifully.

"And that's my cue to leave." Skye tried to get past them, but Jeffrey "accidentally" shifted so that he blocked her from the basement door. Skye "accidentally" jabbed him in the pit of his stomach. Jeffrey "accidentally" retaliated by sticking out a foot and sending Skye tripping past her goal. Skye was about ready to jump Jeffrey and wrestle him into a very useful and painful arm lock she knew, and Jeffrey was readying himself for her attack when Jane cleared her throat. Jeffrey and Skye whipped about remembering themselves. Jeffrey grinned innocently and shoved his hands in his pockets. Skye leaned against the wall arms crossed.

"You were saying?" Jeffrey motioned to Jane.

"It's based off Shadow and Armageddon." Jane eyed them both with a studying frown. "It's going to be about two heroes that are working undercover in secret to break up a large mafia group in the heart of Boston. But in the midst of all the chaos and mystery they fall in love."

Jeffrey choked on nothing, and out of reflex Skye began to pound him on the back.

"Delightful." Skye told Jane wryly, "Good luck."

"Wait! I wanted to base the girl character off of you!"

"Me?" Skye froze in her tracks and did her best to push through her panic. "Um... Why me?"

"I wanted her to secretly be the mafia leader's chauffeur and mechanic." Jane explained and Skye felt relieved. "I wanted to make sure I didn't make any mistakes whenever I describe her going about fixing cars and stuff."

"Uh, sure. I'll proofread it." Skye promised.

"Great!" Jane dumped the paper onto Skye. "Jeffrey you can read it too, because you have good literary taste and I could use moral support."

"That's me all right." Jeffrey stabbed a thumb at himself proudly, "Moral support is my middle name."

"Great. I think she could probably use moral support first." Skye handed off the pages to him.

"Oh, you don't have to read it right now if you two were already doing something."

"We weren't." Skye gave Jane a blank look of confusion. "I literally just walked in and found him stealing the leftovers."

"Yeah." Jeffrey was wincing and rubbing his back, but then hurried to be polite. "Unless of course you wanted to do something. We could play catch again if you wanted. If you two wanted."

"I just had a brilliant flash of inspiration regarding the male character and his infatuation for the mafia chauffeur." Jane announced a gleam in her eye. Jeffrey wheezed. "You two go on without me."

"I-" Skye wanted to intervene. It felt like she was being set up.

"Have fun." Jane drowned her out and ran madly up the stairs to their bedroom.

"Do you want to-"

"Not really." Skye said, "I'm going for a run actually."

"Oh cool." Jeffrey nodded. "Can I join you?"

"Why?" Skye asked with a frown.

"If you don't want me it's fine." Jeffrey shrugged.

"No, I meant why would you want-" Skye shook her head. "Never mind. You can come, but you better keep up. I'm not going to go easy on you."

...

Skye ran hard and fast as if she she wanted to leave everything far behind, including Jeffrey. But Jeffrey kept up all the same, even if it meant that he was panting and sweating harder than Skye by the time she halted in a park.

"Not bad. Nobody else has ever kept up with me before." Skye nudged Jeffrey's side with her foot. Jeffrey had collapsed on the ground. The cold air and his over-inhalation of it had done a rather painful number on his chest and lungs.

"Military school. Remember?" Jeffrey excused himself with a rasp.

"Right. Military school." Skye looked like she knew he was hiding something.

"Well. I work out a lot too. How else do you think I got this great bod?" Jeffrey got the sense that lying on the ground kind of downplayed the muscles he flexed. Skye didn't seem impressed. "But now I know why you're in such good shape. I imagine anyone who runs as if Hades is chasing them to drag them down the River Styx would be the fittest person in the world."

"I also do a lot of push-ups." Skye straightened and shoved a hand through her hair to push it out of her eyes. Jeffrey quickly looked away so he wouldn't be caught staring like he had been earlier. "You want to grab a drink before we head back?"

"Oh God, yes. I'm so dehydrated I would willingly go down the River Styx if it meant I could get a drink."

"Isn't the River filled with the souls of the damned?" Skye inquired as she began to haul him up to his feet.

"As intelligent as you are beautiful." Jeffrey cracked. Skye dropped him before he could catch his balance and he fell to the ground. "Owwww, that's the second time you've done that!"

"But unlike the first it wasn't an accident."

"Looks like I've fallen for you." Jeffrey propped himself up on his elbows and grinned at her. Skye made a noise that sounded like a cross between a frustrated alligator and an annoyed grizzly, before she spun about on her heel and walked away. Jeffrey hurried to get up and chase her down.

"Sorry. Sorry. You're right, maybe I took that too far. I was just kidding, I swear." He lied. Skye didn't respond but she slowed considerably so that they were walking in step with each other. Jeffrey decided to keep his mouth shut too, he didn't want to get on her bad side. That was the opposite of his goal.

"How's School going for you?" Skye was making an effort to put his remark behind them, and Jeffrey jumped at the opportunity.

"Well enough. Still as boring and lackluster as it's always been. But that reminds me, I've been meaning to tell you. Remember, that day in the car when I told you I had given up on music?"

"Sure."

"Well, you inspired me to start taking piano lessons again."

"I...inspired you?" Skye gave him a look of surprise.

"Yeah, you were so passionate against my mother taking it away from me, and just how you ranted about doing what you love...I just decided to give it another shot."

"I...inspired you?" Skye was still taken aback and she had stopped in her tracks.

"Yeah! I've started taking lessons twice a week and my instructor says I'm doing really well; so, I'll be advancing soon- Are you okay?"

"Um...yeah. It's just..." Skye looked like she was struggling, "Why?"

"Well I thought it was about time-"

"No, not that. The piano is great, but why are you doing this?" Skye motioned between the two of them. "You keep searching me out to do something. You keep trying to be my friend even though I've kind of been focused on ignoring you. And you keep asking me for advice over all my sisters who are not only more qualified but also a great deal warmer than I am."

"You downplay your abilities."

"Drop the politeness." Skye insisted. "Why me?"

"I..." Jeffrey struggled. "It's...I feel like you understand me."

Skye crossed her arms but nodded for him to continue.

"Your family is wonderful and they accepted me with practically no hesitance. I adore and appreciate them for that, but I also feel as if they don't quite get me. Jane and Rosie have proved that they'll always be there to listen to me, but I feel like they're trying to solve my problems for me. It shouldn't be that way, I should be learning for myself and they don't quite get why I struggle. But you...you...don't tolerate me at all. You tell me when I'm being stupid without caring whether you're offending me or not, and I have to admit it's refreshing. You give me exactly what I need, a straightforward answer. But you also weren't afraid to flare up when I told you about my mother, and it kind of opened my eyes. I've been making excuses for so long. I've told myself that she had good intentions, that it was partly my fault, but you came out with the answer and it was that simple. My mother was wrong to do that to me, and I was wrong to have just rolled over and let it slip by. I thank you for that."

Skye nodded, but looked like she didn't know what to say.

"Since you were the one who motivated me, I thought it only fit to tell you about me taking piano again."

"Thanks." Skye said at last. "That's been bugging me for awhile."

"I do consider us friends." Jeffrey told her earnestly. "Sorry if I bothered you with the weird compliment stuff."

"I can ignore it, I'm pretty used to it by now."

"How so?" Jeffrey cocked his head and did his best to hide his knowing grin.

"Uh..."Skye looked trapped. "I've got this friend who does the same thing. He's an idiot."

"Sounds pretty charming to me. You should introduce us sometime." Jeffrey felt smug.

"God. This is the last thing I need." Jeffrey barely heard Skye mutter under her breath.

"What's that?"

"I said that's the last thing I need." Skye recovered. "Trust me, he's super annoying. He's got the biggest ego in the world. I can't stand him."

Jeffrey supposed he'd led himself into that pit, but he still felt rueful.

"But his heart is in the right place I suppose." Skye was giving him a strange look. As if she knew something. "And I don't know what I would do without him."

Jeffrey felt his chest swell up and he couldn't help smiling. His plan was going great, Skye was already associating him with Armageddon. True it was because they both annoyed her, but if she could begin to accept Jeffrey than he was on the first step down a road of-

"You're staring." Skye interrupted his fantasy.

"Sorry, I was thinking of something else." Jeffrey shook his head. "You're just really-"

Skye was already starting to bristle, and Jeffrey stopped himself.

"-Really not as scary as you make yourself out to be, are you?"

Skye's eyes snapped in surprise and indignation.

"Oh, c'mon. The motorcycle, the lurking in the basement, the sarcastic replies, or the long silences...You're really just an awkward person under that. You're even worse than me at making friends. That's why you get angry when people compliment you, you don't know how else to respond."

Skye spluttered. "I'm not awkward. Y-you're just..."

"Just what? Utterly and completely right?" Jeffrey bowed. "That's my middle name."

"You're delusional that's what." Skye finally crossed her arms and gave a firm nod that sent her hair fluttering into her eyes. She swiped at it indignantly, as if it had offended her.

"Than why are you getting so mad?" Jeffrey pointed out.

"I'm not." Skye scowled defiantly. "And I'm not awkward either. I ride a motorcycle, because it's fun. The basement is the only quiet place I can work on my stuff. I remain silent because there is nothing to say. And you're compliments aren't compliments they're jokes that you make because you have a horrible sense of humor."

"I don't know...this is pretty funny." Jeffrey grinned, his arms crossed. "If I had known you were a big softie I wouldn't have been intimidated by you for so long."

"If I had realized just how annoying you were I would have disposed of you long ago." Skye grumbled.

"Too bad I took you in with my charismatic good looks." Jeffrey posed dramatically.

"You've got mud stains all over your back."

"And my witty charm..."

"Never existed."

"And-"

Skye elbowed him in the stomach and sent him into a fit of wheezing. "Perfect. I like you better when you're not talking...and nowhere in sight but that's a little too much to hope more at the present I suppose."

"You've struck me breathless." Jeffrey choked out smugly.

"GAR!"

* * *

 **Sorry it took so long, my laptop is a no go at the moment; so I've been working on this story via mobile and it's very frustrating and time consuming to say the least, but I've managed to churn out a depressing chapter so there's that.**

 **Willow Lark: Thank you. Miraculous ladybug was one of the many inspirations for this story, you have a good eye.**

 **KoalaLover-ABC-123: Thanks, I couldn't help myself with the Don line, I like having Skye slip up a lot. And trust me the comic wasn't great, I've long since thrown that embarrassing thing away. Maybe I'll give it a reboot sometime in the faraway future, but I still haven stopped cringing over it yet.**

 **GM01: Yeah, I thought it was bit more accurate if Skye had gone through the stitches a lot, and that it opened up a good path for more exchanges before the two. I actually have an entire scene that I loved but was forced to take out where they run into a mafia gang and accidentally befriend the guys, and it was one of them that did the stitches, but it was out of place and more of a hilarious gag instead of plot development. Maybe I'll post the outtakes when I finish this story. I'm glad you're finding it funny so far.**

 **NatBlake: As I've already said, I'm delighted that you like the story and I'm honored that it was worth deviating from your chosen fandom for. Trust me this story is a very large step in the opposition direction of what the books are, but I couldn't resist doing a superhero AU. Glad to have you as a reader, and I will definitely never stop kicking butt.**

 **Nijibrush: Well Jeffrey definitely has had at least a little sense knocked into him; though, not that much if he can't resist the urge to stop pushing Skye's buttons. You of all people know how much I love writing oblivious Jeffrey though, so I can't really excuse myself. Thanks for sticking around, I love making you laugh.**


	5. Chapter 5

Skye had never really had a best friend. Sure, she had had her own clique back when she and her family lived in Cameron. She had different groups of friends that she tended to hang out with when she and they were in the mood. She had had her soccer friends, her nerdy, computer geek friends, and even a couple of bull-headed idiots she'd motorcycle with. When the Penderwick's migrated to Boston, Skye was too busy and too apathetic to make or reciprocate friendly advances. She wasn't one to initiate something and her attitude made her seem unapproachable.

Jeffrey- Armageddon at first- was a surprise and she hadn't realized how close they really were until she was worried she was going to hurt him. Skye was jumping between two mindsets: 'Stop! Don't let him get too close! Nothing lasts forever!' And 'Don't you dare mess this up. He doesn't deserve that.'

The more time Skye spent around Jeffrey the more her mind adopted the latter mood. Her first priority now was to make sure Jeffrey was one hundred percent safe in a fight, and that he didn't get the edge on her.

"Hold up." Skye put up a fist as a gesture for Armageddon to stop.

"What is it?"

"They've got guns."

"Do we have to change your superhero name to Captain Obvious?"

"You still don't have your bulletproof vest yet." Skye said impatiently.

"Yeah, Skye said she won't have the materials for another week. It's hard to come by." Armageddon explained in a rather nagging tone. It sounded as if he was implying that she should know that. Skye did of course, but that wasn't the point. "I'm not going to just sit back and let you take them by yourself."

"It won't come to that." Skye decided and pulled her hoodie off, taking care not to accidentally remove her scarf and hat. "You'll use mine. We're about the same size."

"I'm three inches taller than you, and I'm not about to let you go in there without your vest." Armageddon protested, pushing the vest away.

"Which one of us is more prone to slip-ups in a fight?" Skye pointed out. "You don't put it on, then I'm not letting you join me."

"But-"

"I'm not putting it back on; so, it'll just go to waste if you don't take it." Skye pulled her hoodie back over her head and flipped the hood up with an air of finality.

"Ugh. Fine." Armageddon grumbled and hurried to put the vest on. "But make sure you tell _Skye_ that she needs to hurry up on mine so that you're not going without one."

"Will you stop whining?" Skye rolled her eyes, but inwardly she felt a lot more relieved that Armageddon had put the vest on. Her mind felt more at rest.

"How do I look?"

"Bulky, but safer."

"Why does everything look better on you?" Armageddon complained. "You'd think the tighter it is on me, the less you'd be able to see it."

Armageddon had been doing it so much, that his flirting was almost one hundred percent not flirting and he didn't even realize he was doing it. It was a dangerous pattern now, and one that always threw Skye off.

"We good?" Armageddon cocked his head at her hesitation. "I swear to God that if you're still going to make me stay back-"

It was very tempting. If Skye had her way, Jeffrey would be as far back from the fight as possible. But she knew that he wouldn't stay if she told him to, and it'd be more dangerous if she didn't know where he was.

"Right. On my mark..." Skye inhaled deeply to collect her mind. She'd just have to finish the fight fast and keep an eye on Jeffrey's back.

...

"...And he's got me listening to classical jazz now. He gave me Gershwin to examine, and I've probably listened to "Rhapsody in Blue" on repeat at least twenty times now. Oh my God, it's a masterpiece. You can hear a train in the freakin' percussion and brass. Not to mention the piano solo, I almost die at that part every time!" Jeffrey paused to hand Skye the screwdriver she gestured for. "And the slow drum roll that accompanies it, gradually lifting into the chaotic climax is just-"

"GET DOWN!" Skye launched herself at Jeffrey and tackled him behind the washer just as her invention exploded in a shower of sparks with a repercussion so strong her table collapsed.

Jeffrey didn't even have time to get flustered at Skye being on top of him, she was already on her feet and grabbing the fire extinguisher in the corner. She hosed down the flames that threatened to seize hold of her desk, until all that was left was a lot of white foam and some smoke.

"You okay?" Skye actually looked worried as she turned back to Jeffrey.

"Uh...yeah." Jeffrey's breath caught in his throat and he coughed. Skye reacted instantly as if his coughing signaled him keeling over dead next. Jeffrey found himself outside in the cold within twelve seconds.

"Should wait til the smoke clears." Skye made sure the garage door and the door leading to the basement were wide open. "You're sure you're fine? You didn't inhale a lot of the smoke did you? I didn't damage anything when I tackled-"

"Relax, Skye. I'm absolutely fine." Jeffrey put his hands on her shoulders to stop her.

"Good." Skye nodded and turned away brusquely.

"If you ask me, the fire was bound to happen at some point anyway."

"What?" Skye whirled about with a frown. "Why-"

"Because you're smokin' hot." Jeffrey threw a pair of gun fingers at her.

Skye opened her mouth, shut it, raised a finger, and then simply made a strangled sound and retreated back into the basement without further comment and a very strange expression on her face. Jeffrey debated whether he should follow or not, but decided he should let her cool off (Ha, a pun. Skye was rubbing off on him).

Jeffrey was too restless to go back and deal with her anyways, now that he had something threatening to make him grin at a moment's notice. Skye worried about him. Not Armageddon-fighting-next-to-her worried, but "This is about to blow up, my first impulse is to tackle Jeffrey out of the way and then make sure he is alright." worried. She cared. Jeffrey felt like whooping, but he settled on sticking his hands in his pockets and whistling "Rhapsody in Blue".

...

Jeffrey wasn't logical. He didn't make any sense whatsoever, and it was starting to frustrate Skye to no end. She couldn't figure out his sudden impulse to hang around her in her civilian form. Or- even more importantly- what had inspired him into start throwing so many pick-up lines at her. It didn't make sense. True, she had been more patient and had been listening to him of late, but that hardly seemed like an invitation for Jeffrey to hit on her.

The worst part was the effect it was having on Skye. As Shadow, Skye had the scarf and hat to cover her facial expressions and make her seem blank and unreadable. As Skye, she couldn't figure out how to reply or control her face. She knew her expression must be pretty bad, because Jeffrey always looked smug. And it had only gotten worse since Jeffrey had decided he wasn't scared of her.

He couldn't possibly mean any of it, but for someone reason Skye couldn't help but get flustered. Almost as if she wished he did mean it. Skye scoffed at that. Jeffrey was a lackadaisical dork, nothing more. He was sloppy and always letting his hair fall in his eyes. He rambled excitedly and waved his hands around too much. He grinned too widely, especially when he was pleased with himself and that tended to make his eyes crease. Which in turn brought out the green in his eyes and drew attention to all the freckles scattered across his nose.

Skye frowned. Wait a second. She didn't like Jeff-

"FIRE. FIRE. Beep beep beep."

The fire alarm started sounding in the room above her, and it was quickly echoed by her sisters' cries. They sounded like they were panicking. Skye shook her head but made her way upstairs to sort everything out.

"Abandon ship! We've got to evacuate the premises!" Jane was hollering.

"Is it the stove?! Is the pie burning?!" Rosie was anxious.

"Wee Woo! Wee Woo!" Ben was imitating a fire truck and running outside after Jane who was carrying a crying Lydia. Batty was covering her ears and trying to shush Ben at the same time.

"Fire. Fire. Beep beep bee-" Skye smacked the fire alarm.

"The pie's fine." Rosalind looked relieved. "Where's the smoke coming from?"

"I may or may not have been working on producing a miniature jet engine?" Skye said sheepishly, "And I may or may not have accidentally made a small bomb instead? I blame the substitute for jet fuel that I came up with, it's a very fragile componen-"

"A BOMB!? SKYE?!" Trust Rosalind to focus on the least important part of Skye's description.

"It wasn't that big of an explosion, and I contained it right away." Skye tried to soothe her older sister. "Really, it's one of the risks involved in making a jet pack."

"A JETPACK?!"

God. Skye was kicking herself. She was screwed now.

"YOU COULD HAVE BLOWN UP THE HOUSE!" Rosalind wouldn't drop the all caps, and she was attracting the attention of her other siblings.

It was beginning to feel like a good distraction from where Skye's thoughts had begun to stray; so, she chimed in helpfully: "My whole work table caught on fire, but it's okay. I've got some back up pieces so I'll just start on a new engine."

"WHAT?!"

...

"What's got you all in a dither?" Jeffrey pushed his ski mask up so that it wasn't covering his mouth. It made it easier to snack on Skye's hoard of Snickers. "You look uptight, and on a scale of pleasant to Skye, you're off the charts."

"Scales are different from charts." Skye didn't so much as look at him as she began to sand down some boards. She was making a new work table. "Does the belt fit?"

"You'd know if you looked." Jeffrey commented, trying to get caramel out of his teeth. "Are my hips so mesmerizing that you fear getting hypnotized?"

Skye's sandpapering grew ten times more aggressive. If she wasn't careful, her table would be a pile of wood shavings.

"It fits nice. Super comfortable and it holds my pants up; so, it's practical too just like you like it, right?" Jeffrey tried his best.

Skye tossed the piece of wood aside rather roughly, and picked up the next one on the pile. She didn't acknowledge him.

"Are you still upset about that incident with the bomb?"

"It wasn't a bomb it was a jet pack." Skye was practically sanding the wood with her own knuckles.

"A jetpack?!" Jeffrey was indignant. "You-Shadow swore that you weren't going to make one!"

"Shadow can't tell me what to do." Skye grunted, which made Jeffrey mad. She was using her alias to get out of a promise she had literally made to him in his current disguise, just because she thought that he didn't know that it was her who made the promise in the first place. He opened his mouth to argue with her, but she cut him off.

"Rosalind pulled rank and made me scrap it anyways. So it doesn't matter." Skye had run out of wood and was re-examining one of the planks she had already papered as if it had a flaw she had missed the first time.

"Is that what you're upset about?"

"I'm not upset."

"And I'm not suave and charming."

"About time you admit it." Skye shot him down without a hint of it being one of her friendly snarks. It was almost malicious the way she said it.

"Ouch." Jeffrey was stung, but he did his best to play off the hurt. "I suppose I walked-"

"Will you just leave?" Skye turned on him impatiently. "I'd rather be alone right now."

"Not until you tell me what's wrong." Jeffrey crossed his arms and sat down.

"There's nothing wrong." Skye insisted. "Leave me alone."

"Nope. It's against my policy to let anyone sulk."

"I'm not sulking." Skye's eyes flashed dangerously.

"Are too." Jeffrey sensed she was about to snap, but he was just as stubborn as she was.

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not!" Skye slammed down a screwdriver so hard it stood upright quivering in the plank.

"Are too." Jeffrey examined his nails as if he was unimpressed. He was impressed.

"God! Why do you have to make everything infinitely more complicated!? Why can't you just drop it and move on from it forever?"

"Because not all of us are as emotionally stunted as you, Your Skyeness."

"Right. How long have you been waiting to use that one?!" Skye demanded. "Why can't you leave well enough alone?! Why can't you mind your own business? Why cant-"

"Um...Skye?" Jeffrey looked down at her, from where she had hauled him up to his feet and pinned him to the wall with one hand so that he was standing on his tiptoes and she was practically stabbing him every time she poked him with her index finger.

"-Why did it have to be you?! And why won't you stop coming around no matter how hard I've tried to make you stop?!" Skye ignored him. "You're making everything impossible and that much harder for me to-"

"Okay, but-" Jeffrey tried his best.

"-And always with the pickup lines! What are they even supposed to mean? They're not even that funny! You know how annoying and confusing they are-"

"Your eyes are much prettier close up." Jeffrey couldn't help himself from marveling.

Skye's mouth snapped shut. She seemed to realize for the first time how close her and Jeffrey's faces were, and the position in which she was holding him. Her face went deep red, and she dropped him quicker than if he had been a hot poker. It was interesting, and Jeffrey felt taken aback. He had that kind of effect on her? It couldn't be, he was wishing so hard that he was over-analyzing everything.

Skye had spun around and she appeared to try to be regaining control of her temper and breathing. Jeffrey put out a hand to touch her and thought better of it.

"I'm...sorry." Skye inhaled deeply. "That was uncalled for."

"No, I was push-"

"Stop." Skye commanded. "You can't keep excusing me. I have a lot on my mind and maybe your jokes are adding to the noise, but that doesn't forgive my snapping. I get...I get that you mean well. It can be overwhelming sometimes."

"Me? Overwhelming?" Jeffrey pointed to himself in genuine shock. Skye ran a hand over her face and looked at him tiredly.

"I...I don't want to talk about it, it's way too personal." She huffed. Then, she looked up with slightly worried eyes. "Um... I didn't hurt you when I-?"

"Not a scratch," Jeffrey shook his head. "You're not mad at me are you?"

"No, just myself." Skye yanked out her screwdriver. "You should go now. I promise your vest will be done soon. A week max."

"Right. Right. You should hurry, Shadow is making me wear her's and I don't want her to get hurt because of it."

"You said it yourself before. Shadow's invincible right?" Skye looked vulnerable and far from invincible, and Jeffrey swept her up in a hug before he could stop himself.

"You need to stop ignoring your problems, talk to me any time, okay? Or at least one of your sisters? Stuff like that can load you down and that's not good."

Jeffrey felt Skye hug him back slightly, carefully.

"I'll be fine." She promised and pulled away with her best effort at a frown. It wasn't convincing.

...

Skye had run out to make a quick errand, just pick up some milk and eggs. It wasn't intended to be anything more than that, and she had theorized she wouldn't need all her gear. But then again, it wasn't as if the robbers had been considerate enough to plan their stupid convenient store heist around her life. Skye was almost tempted to leave the problem to the police, but that went against her morals. That and the local cop had botched it up and shown himself. Now the thieves had hostages and were probably desparate enough to do anything. Also this was personal. Skye bought her ice cream sandwiches there almost religiously.

Skye pulled her hat down as low as possible and threw up her hood. She took stock of what she did have at her use. A wallet, her butterfly knife, spearmint gum, and one Jeffrey Tifton disguised as Armageddon.

"Where's the cargo pants and the rest of your gear?" Armageddon noted.

"I was shopping. I don't have time to get that stuff, so, we'll have to make do with my greatest weapon."

"Your good looks."

"My brain." Skye reprimanded lightly, feeling her stomach twist. "There's two of them. They've got at least four possibly five hostages, and they've got guns of course. Are you wearing my bulletproof vest?"

"Under protest." Armageddon crossed his arms. "I don't like the idea of you going in there without one."

"Like it's my fault." Skye scoffed.

"It _is_ your fault, Skye." Armageddon snapped. "You told me my vest would be done in a week."

"Yeah, well maybe if you weren't stopping by at all hours of the day to chatter non-stop about music, Jeffrey, I would have finished making it by now." Skye retorted.

"What's that got to do with it? You ignore me when I talk about music!"

"It doesn't make sense! And you're always so abstract. Abstract art shouldn't exist!"

"It's a form of expression!" Armageddon insisted, "Something you'd know if you weren't always withholding your emotions and acting as robotic as your inventions!"

"Hey! My inventions are not the problem! They improve and help people's lives. I don't see music doing that!"

"That sounds like something a robot would say." Armageddon announced smugly and started making abrupt and rigid movements like he was a robot. "MMM beep beep. My. name. is. Skye. music. doesn't. make. sense. Can't Compute. Can't compute."

"Oh yeah. Well my name is Jeffrey Tifton." Skye lowered her voice in a poor imitation of Jeffrey's. Her voice couldn't register that deeply, though the hair flip she executed was spot on. "I trip over empty air-"

"I don't do that!" Armageddon tossed his head. "And I might be a little clumsy, but at least I don't set bombs off inside the-"

"It wasn't a-"

Armageddon and Skye went stiff at the exact same time and slowly turned to look at each other. Neither knew how to process the situation.

"Did you-" They started in unison and then stopped in unison. Armageddon/Jeffrey raised a hand then lowered it. He raised it again, and then stopped himself and rubbed the back of his neck.

Skye/Shadow reached up to run a hand through her hair and tug on it, but stopped just in time, her lowered hood reminding her why she was there in the first place. She fumbled. Out of all Skye's worrying, all her planning, she hadn't thought of this scenario.

"So... obviously our first goal is to draw the robbers out into the open and away from the hostages."

"Right. Right." Armageddon nodded his head very vigorously. He appeared equally eager to push away the whole thing for now too. "How do you suggest we go about that, Skye-I mean Shadow!? Shadow. How do we do that, Shadow? Who's Skye? I don't even know any Skyes."

Skye literally facepalmed. God, he was hopeless. "You'll distract them, and I'll sneak up from behind."

"Right. That's what you do best." Armageddon shook his shoulders and appeared to try to be looking nonchalant. "Well, it's not what you do best. You're also super smart. And insanely prett-"

"Stop." Skye was not going to let him go there. "Look. Let's forget this for now. Can you focus on the situation? Because if not I'll have to go in there by myself and-"

"No!" Armageddon/Jeffrey seemed horrified by the mere idea. "No way am I letting you go in there by yourself. I've got this."

"Good." Skye closed her eyes and took a deep breath to collect herself. This was going to be a heck of rollercoaster.

...

Jeffrey was feeling rather dizzy, but he couldn't think about that. This was more important, people's lives were at stake. Skye's life was- NOPE. He wasn't going to go there. It was Shadow not Skye. He tried to convince himself of that. They had plotted out a strategy up on that roof, nothing more. They hadn't argued and found out that they both knew each other's secret identities. Oh God. She knew who he- Jeffrey slapped his own face. He had to focus.

Jeffrey glanced down at his watch. Skye had two minutes. No, _Shadow_ had two minutes. Right. Jeffrey exhaled a sharp air of breath. He had to keep calm. His role was easy. All he had to do was pop into the store and distract the stooges. He was as Shadow/Skye had put it: "The most annoying and persistent idiot" and "You're like the giant elephant in the room that nobody wants to address, but there's no ignoring you so its impossible."

Jeffrey told her he blamed it all on his charisma.

Ten seconds left. Jeffrey poised himself. Shadow had left the method up to him, which was probably a bad idea on her part, but she was busy with her own piece of the strategy and so Jeffrey did what he had always wanted to do if he was ever involved in stopping a convenient store crime in progress. He jumped through the window.

Well, he tried to jump through the window. It turned out it took a lot more effort than you would have thought and it felt like running into a solid wall. Solid walls don't break either, and so it kind of looked like Jeffrey hadn't noticed there was a window there and had been trying to leap through a window that didn't have a pane of glass. Kind of like one of those birds.

It did distract the burglars though and the two men very agreeably turned their guns on Jeffrey as he used the door like a normal person.

"HANDS IN THE AIR!" One of them bellowed.

"Do I have too?" Jeffrey rubbed his head. He could feel a bruise starting to develop.

"HANDS IN THE-"

"Air. Okay. Okay. I got it." Jeffrey demonstrated by wiggling his fingers above his head. "If I end up with a concussion I'm making you two pay-"

"Shut up." The taller of two began to pat him down. "He's armed!"

"And very ticklish." Jeffrey squirmed as the man reached into his pocket and pulled out a harmonica.

"Never mind. Why on earth is Armageddon of all-"

"Put him with the other hostages and shut up, you idiot." The shorter man hissed.

"Come on, guys. Why can't we just be friends?" Jeffrey stalled. Shadow had wanted him to keep the men up at the front of the store as long as he could. "Look we're all wearing ski masks! We're like triplets!"

"I said-"

There was a thud behind them, coming from the backroom, and the ski mask triplets froze and listened.

"Gary?"

Oh great. There was a third one. Of course they'd leave someone with the hostages while the others ransacked the place. Jeffrey crossed his fingers and waited with bated breath for some kind of sign that Shadow was alright.

"Gary?!" The short man shouted again. "What are you doing back there?!"

"Um...I'm fine?" A low guttural voice assured him. It was almost painfully obvious that it wasn't a man's voice to everyone, but Jeffrey took the split second while the men were distracted to jump the taller of the two.

That was when all hell broke loose. Jeffrey was struggling to overpower the big crook, the burglar's shorter friend rushed to his partner's side and attempted to pull Jeffrey off or land in a blow with his gun, and Shadow finally jumped into the melee too. With the smaller gunman off his back, Jeffrey was able to land in some solid blows on his guy. Shadow was even more efficient and quick than he was. The short burglar had caught hold of her arm and was attempting to twist it behind her back, but Shadow dropped to the floor using her body weight to pull the man down before she flipped him over her head. Before he even had a chance to recover she had his hands behind his back and she was binding them with some zip ties she had grabbed out of the backroom.

Jeffrey, ecstatic that Shadow was alright, punched his guy a little too enthusiastically. His gauntlets made a pretty big impact right between the man's eyes and he keeled over, out like a light.

"You alright?"

Jeffrey turned and offered Shadow a reassuring grin, as he readjusted his mask that had gotten pulled askew during the fight. "I'm fine. My head hurts, but I'm fine."

"Why does your head hurt?" Shadow demanded and peered up into his face, scanning for any sign of the injury he had mentioned (Pretty pointless considering his mask covered everything). "Did one of them hit you?"

"No I hit my head on the way in. It's fine. I'm alright I swear. What'd you do with Gary?"

"He's unconscious and tied up. I snuck the hostages out the back way, and the cop ran off to his car to contact a squad. You know, it's kind of strange that all three of the burglars would break in. I mean wouldn't it be smarter to leave one of them as getaway driver or something?"

"I don't know. They honestly didn't seem like the sharpest knives in-"

"GET DOWN!" Shadow's eyes widened in surprised. She shoved Jeffrey out of the way and hurled herself at the gunman behind him.

The getaway driver's gun went off as Shadow barreled into him and they both went crashing into the shelf of baking goods. Jeffrey's ears were still ringing from the loudness of the gunshot as he stumbled to his feet and rushed to Skye's side. His worry somewhat dissipated as she got off the fourth thief, and a quick check on Jeffrey's part proved that the man had hit his head on one of the shelves and had been knocked unconscious.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" Jeffrey whirled about on his best friend. Shadow- no _Skye-_ looked shaky and disoriented with her right hand clutching at a spot just above her heart. Jeffrey's heart twisted in sudden fear and dread as Skye slowly pulled her hand away and looked down at the blood covering it in confusion. Jeffrey grabbed her as she slowly toppled over.

"Skye! Skye!" Jeffrey hurried to pressure on the wound. "Oh GOD, Skye!"

As Skye's eyes beginning to flutter shut, Jeffrey pulled her scarf down so she breathe easier. In the distance sirens began to sound.

"This is my fault. Oh God. Oh my God. Oh my God!"

"did it hurt?" Skye mumbled something. Jeffrey stuck his head closer so he could hear her better, tears stinging his eyes.

"Did what hurt? I'm fine. You're the one-"

Skye was shaking her head with what energy she had left and rambled on. "did it hurt when you fell from heaven...idiot? The one pick-up line i know...and...you..." She trailed off into silence as her eyes finally closed.

...

 **Sorry it took so long to update guys.**

 **KoalaLover-ABC-123: Glad you liked the last chapter, and that I was able to squeeze in a couple more of those pick-up lines that you liked. Also I give you the biggest slip-up yet; so. I hope that counts for something too.**

 **GM01: I might have taken this story a little farther than you thought I would when you last commented, but I hope you like it nonetheless. And please poke me whenever. Your messages always motivate me to write and I enjoy hearing from you.**

 **NatBlake: I'm happy you appreciated the last chapter and that it distracted you somewhat from your bus ride. Buses are the bane of human existence and the least comfortable mode of transportation I've ever experienced, so I felt pretty sorry for you.**

 **Readwriteedit: No, thank _you_ for the comment. I'm glad you liked the update, but I always love hearing from you and your comment made my day.**

 **Nijibrush: Yes, Jeffrey is an idiot, and I couldn't resist writing the overly-protective and paranoid Skye that we got to see in Point Mouette. I'm excited you loved the banter, its always my favorite part to write. Thanks for your sympathy concerning my laptop. I've got it back now and I'm doing my best to repress the horrible memories of writing via mobile. Blood on the wall _does_ sound a lot easier, maybe I'll try that next time.**


	6. Chapter 6

Panic clutched at Jeffrey's throat and threatened to smother him to death with every passing second that the doctors refused to speak to them. He was pacing now, faster and faster until it looked like some kind of demon was jerking him about. The only thing stopping him from completely freaking out and doing something rash was Skye's family waiting alongside him for news. They were all in varying states of grief.

Mr. Penderwick's face was buried in his hands and Iantha had an arm wrapped around him. Rosalind was holding Lydia close to her, the youngest Penderwick had cried herself to sleep. Batty had her legs pulled up to her chest and her face rested in her knees, rolling herself up into a protective ball. Jane was sniffing and still wiping her eyes occasionally; though, most of them had already gone through their severe crying stage. Ben's expression was oddly blank for being one of the most excitable Penderwicks, he looked numb. None of them could have felt half as bad as Jeffrey though.

Guilt gnawed at his chest. It was his fault. Skye was going to die and it was all his fault. If only he had been paying more attention. If only Skye's shove hadn't knocked him aside. Jeffrey shook his head and swiped angrily at his eyes. He had thought he was done with crying by then, but the heaviness in his stomach and throat told him he wasn't even close to being finished. What was taking the doctors so long? Jeffrey suppressed the urge to grab someone and demand to know what was going on. She had to make it. If Skye died, Jeffrey knew he wouldn't be able to cope. Skye was strongest person in the world, she couldn't die. It seemed all ridiculous, it had to be some terrible, practical joke right? She was fine. She had to be hiding somewhere closing by and chuckling over it all. Her family was in on it too, and so were the doctors. Jeffrey's head whirled as his conspiracy theory grew wilder with his paranoia and disbelief.

His reason came crashing back to him as the doctor showed his face and delivered the news. She was going to be fine.

Jeffrey was so relieved his stomach twisted and he thought he was going to be sick. That was all he had been waiting to hear. He slipped away his first chance once the Penderwicks had their backs turned, and they didn't notice. If he stayed and saw Skye, he knew everything would come crashing out. He didn't dare risk that.

...

Skye blinked blearily and stared at the white ceiling above her. She could hear a constant beeping sound that felt like it was matching her heart beat. It was kind of unsettling. Then, Jane's head popped up above her and that was even more unsettling.

"Jane, get out. I'm trying to sleep." Skye growled and tried to flip herself over so she could bury her face in her pillow.

"She's awake!" Jane announced. Was she crying? The rest of the Penderwick family rushed to Skye's side in a flash, all of them clamoring and talking over each other. Skye was even more confused, until she finally looked down and saw that she was in a hospital bed. Only then did everything come back. She had been shot.

Skye tried to look down at her right shoulder, but the whole area was bandaged and she wasn't quite sure if she could feel it, it seemed numb.

"How are you feeling, Honey?" Skye was at last able to pick out a phrase in the scattered chorus her family had given her.

"Terrific." Skye made a face at her hoarse voice and still spinning head. "How'd I get here?"

"Do you remember what happened?" Rosalind asked.

"Gunshot wounds don't lead to amnesia as far as I can tell." Skye grumbled and tried to push herself up. "I was at the convenience store-"

"In the middle of a robbery!" Jane cried. "Shadow and Armageddon stopped it. It's all over the news! They're saying that Shadow saved your life!"

"That I don't remember." Skye frowned.

"Look! It's there on the news again!" Her younger sister turned up the volume and everyone turned to watch the tv.

-the police have confirmed now that shots were fired on the scene, and one of the hostages was hit. Thanks to the quick thinking of resident vigilante Shadow, the girl was kept stable until the medics showed up. Shadow fled the scene before she could get apprehended once again, and though there's been witnesses claiming Shadow's partner Armageddon was on site, he wasn't seen leav-" Mr. Penderwick lowered the tv's volume again.

"Imagine having your life saved by Shadow of all people!" Jane practically swooned on top of Skye's bed. Unable to push her off thanks to her bad arm, Skye settled for glaring at her. Jane didn't seem to care. "What's it feel like, Skye?! Wait I've got to write this down."

Ben held out a card for her. "Me and Batty made it for you. Jeffrey helped with the spelling."

"Jeffrey did?" Skye tried to look like she didn't care, but she examined the card carefully. "He spelt 'Thermodynamics' wrong."

"I told you we should have used the dictionary." Batty nudged Ben.

"He's a grown-up!" Ben protested, "Grown-ups are supposed to know how to spell everything."

Skye would have laughed if she hadn't felt so sick. Rosalind was first to catch on to it (She had always seemed to have a sixth sense for that sort of thing). "Why don't we keep it down, alright? She just woke up after surgery, we don't want to overwhelm her."

"I'm fine." Skye scowled.

"Rosalind's right." Mr. Penderwick intervened. "We're all tired and excited now that Skye's fine. Rosalind, will you drive the others home and put them to bed? Iantha and I will follow in the van soon."

"I'll find the doctor and tell him, she's awake." Iantha nodded and helped Rosalind usher the other's out, everyone calling back their goodnights to Skye. She was glad of their visit, but too tired and relieved to protest their going away.

"What time is it?" Skye mumbled to her father.

"Two-thirty in the morning. You were brought into surgery almost immediately after you arrived here, but you gave us a rough time of it." Mr. Penderwick stroked her head. Skye couldn't bring herself to complain it was too comforting. "How are you feeling?"

"Remember that time I broke my arm and ankle jumping off the roof to prove to Tommy that I could do it without breaking anything?"

"Yes."

"I'd say its about ten times worse and I can't even feel pain yet."

"The doctors were worried at first, you were shot at point blank and the only way you survived it was this." Mr. Penderwick held up Skye's small but very fat book on Optics, it had a bullet hole straight through it. "It was in your shirt pocket, and the doctors said it helped deflect the bullet into your clavicle instead of damaging any major arteries."

"That's my _light_ reading." Skye grinned weakly. "Do you get it? Because Optics is the-"

"Shhhh. Yes, I know the study of light, Honey. You should relax, don't talk if you don't feel well. Knowing your passion for physics I know it's almost hard to resist the temptation."

"I had three chapters left and then I was going to start up on Molecular." Skye complained as her eyes shut, too tired to keep them open even though she wasn't particularly sleepy.

... ... ...

"He's acting funny." Jane nodded in agreement with Rosalind, the first thing Skye could make out from their whispered conversation by the window.

"Who?" Skye had a feeling she knew who, but she remained nonchalant as she jumped one of her checkers over one of Ben's. Her family had separated their visits into two groups. Rosalind, Jane, Batty, and Ben in one and Aunt Claire, Mr. Penderwick, Iantha, and Lydia in the other.

" _Jeffrey."_ Jane's voice held a strange air to it. As if she was trying to drop too many hints and inside scoops all at once. "He hasn't come by to visit once."

"So?" Skye kept her voice disinterested. "Maybe he hates hospitals."

"He waited with us while you were in surgery." Rosalind shook her head. "He snuck out as soon as we heard you were alright, while all of us were distracted with the news."

"He's stopped by the house at least twice, and he's texted me four times asking how you're doing." Jane made no room for excuses.

"Maybe he's scared." Batty suggested.

"Of what? It's not like you can see the injury unless Skye shows it off again."

"Want to see it?" Skye moved.

"No!" Jane and Batty covered their eyes.

"Yes!" Ben looked up eagerly. "Can I poke it? Rafael would be jealous, he was bragging so much when he got a wrist brace, but this is ten times cooler."

"Maybe later." Skye promised tousling his hair. "What's Jeffrey so scared of, Batty?"

"You." Batty was solemn.

"Me?" Skye hadn't been expecting that answer, and it was more off-putting because Rosalind looked thoughtful, as if she agreed with Batty. "He's not scared of me. Why would he be scared of me?"

"Because he likes you." It was Jane who spoke up, rolling her eyes as if she thought Skye was being ignorant. The condescension would have normally irked Skye, but she couldn't be bothered by that, besides Jane was already continuing to speak. "Everyone's scared of the object of their affections, haven't you been reading my book? If you ask me, we've all seen this for the longest time, he's not very good at hiding it. And like I said, he keeps asking us how you're doing, that alone should tell you how much he cares."

"If that's so, then why is he scared all of a sudden?" Skye demanded. "He never could stop bugging me before."

That got Jane.

It didn't get Rosalind, but she had enough respect for Skye's privacy that she waited until they were leaving and she was the last one in the room. And then she only answered Skye's question with an ambiguous statement.

"Because he's worried that he'll act on those feelings now."

...

Jeffrey ran his hands over his face. He hadn't slept too much over the past three days, even despite Jane's assurances that Skye was not only doing fine but would be out of the hospital that day. He had been throwing himself into the vigilante lifestyle the past few days, alternating between being Shadow and Armageddon so no-one would figure out what was up. Every time he pulled on Skye's hat he felt like he was suffocating. Every time he got a flashback to her keeling over, and heard what he had thought her last words were going to be. Why would she say- NO.

Jeffrey hit harder, ran faster, and pushed himself harder, and he still couldn't put his mind to rest. The more he pushed everything out of his head, the more he tried to resist it, and the more everything threatened to bubble out and overwhelm him. He couldn't even process most of the emotions jumbling around in his head, it was too much pressure.

Jane asked him why he didn't just visit Skye, and Jeffrey had recoiled at the idea. Talking to Skye-even just seeing her at that moment sounded like the worst idea known to mankind. Jeffrey was one hundred percent sure that he would lose all filters whatsoever and he couldn't trust himself to not say something stupid. Part of him knew that he'd have to face her eventually, but a bigger part of him was coming up with a million different ways he could avoid her. The most doable method on the list was him living a hermitic existence up in a cave in a mountain. Even then he wasn't sure he wouldn't run into Skye by some freak coincidence.

Jeffrey debated just getting it over with. Maybe it was best he confront her when her family was around, that way they could keep it safe. They'd have to watch what they'd say, but there would be no risk of-

"You know, someone once told me that I wouldn't be able to keep my cool around Shadow, that I'd freak out. But I still don't see it."

Jeffrey shrieked and spun around from where he was pacing. He was in a condemned building of all places. Who else would go into a condemned building? Jeffrey knew it was a stupid question with an obvious answer before he even saw Skye standing there, her arm still in a sling.

"Skye. Hi, Skye. How are you feeling?" Jeffrey stammered around, trying to recover but failing miserably. "They checked you out of the hospital? That's stupid, obviously they checked you out. I mean, what are you doing here?"

"Since when is it a crime to check out a condemned building in Boston at ten o'clock at night?"

"Since they created housing codes, Skye. It is illegal. Does your family know where you are?"

"Absolutely not. I was feeling stifled, they're acting rather clingy. They're being overly-considerate." Skye huffed her hair out of her face in annoyance. "It was bad enough being cooped up in a hospital for so long. I detest hospitals."

"Your family's going to be worried. You should go home, are you even supposed to be out and about with that arm?"

"Jeffrey, I got shot in the shoulder, it's not contagious as far as I can tell. And since when did you care whether my family worried or not? Apparently you've known about my vigilante identity for some time and you never thought about my family then." Skye motioned for him to hand over her hat and scarf.

Jeffrey cleared his throat nervously as he pulled down the scarf. "So...you...uh you remember that then?"

"How many times do I- Yes, I remember everything! Amnesia is not a side effect to getting shot in the upper chest!"

"You remember everything?"

"WHAT DID I JUST-"

"So...you remember what you said at the end there, before...you know...before you passed out." Jeffrey rubbed the back of his neck and refused to make eye contact.

"...You know on second thought, amnesia doesn't sound that unlikely. I'm..I'm not sure I recall?" Skye was folding and re-folding her scarf with her one free hand. "Who knows? You know they say shock is real killer in moments like that. Maybe you didn't-"

It began to feel like they were both avoiding the big issue, and it was starting to irritate Jeffrey. Three days was too long to have all that going through his head and twisting his stomach. Three days was too long a time to go without enough sleep and keep everything bottled up. He interrupted her.

"Why'd you do it, Skye?"

Skye's mouth automatically clamped close and she shoved her hand into her pocket, sending the scarf fluttering, unwinding at her side. It was obviously the exact conversation she hadn't been looking forward to. Perhaps she had thought she would have been able to avoid it by sauntering in like nothing had happened. Like there was no problem.

"You can't throw yourself at every bomb, at every bullet and expect to come out all right. You're not exactly replaceable."

"What was I supposed to do? Let it hit you?" Skye's eyes flashed, already ready for a fight.

"Why not!? I was the one with the bulletproof vest!"

"Bulletproof vests aren't invincible, Idiot. They don't give you the ability to bounce bullets off your chest like Superman."

"It wouldn't have been as bad for me though. The fact that you survived it at all is a miracle. You got shot point-blank!"

"I'm not scared to die, Jeffrey. I know the risks and for all my preparations I know I can't predict everything, but I wouldn't do this if I wasn't prepared for those consequences."

"Well maybe some of us aren't prepared for those consequences, Skye!" Jeffrey snapped in frustration. "What about your family? What about me?! You're waving it off like no biggie, but you're not the one who would have to deal with the after-effect of your death!"

"We all go someday. Mine would have just been sooner than later, and human nature adapts. You would move on eventually, everyone does."

"You know that's a load of bull. What about your mother!? Have you gotten over her? You can't tell me that that doesn't still hurt! That her death doesn't effect you at all!"

"That's different." Skye said tersely. "She was perfect. She changed everyone's lives for the better. She mattered."

"And you don't!? DO YOU HEAR YOURSELF?! YOU THREW YOURSELF AT A GUN FOR ME! FOR ME!" Jeffrey struggled and barely pulled his tone back down to a reasonable volume. He was already feeling a wave of panic set in at his own words. "How am I supposed to live with that and not feel guilty!? We can't just brush that aside like it's nothing, Skye! I've been worried sick! I'm exhausted, I haven't slept in twenty-four hours, and my head won't shut up. Why me? Why would you-? You're the one with a family, everything that is important. It's not like I have anyone!"

"Why are you making this a bigger deal than it needs to be?" Skye groaned in frustration and slouched her shoulders. She grimaced at the pain that shot threw her arm at the abrupt movement. "Why can't you just drop it?"

"This _is_ a- Is your arm okay?- big deal, Skye." Jeffrey insisted fervently on the edge of a breakdown. "Nothing about this makes sense. You don't make any sense at all, and if you refuse to talk about this how am I supposed to be on the same page? So why'd you do it? Why can't you stop throwing yourself in the way of every blow that comes my way? You can't take all my hits for me, and you know I can handle myself. So the real million dollar question here is why you still-"

"I can't stand the idea of you getting hurt, okay?" Skye cut him off. She winced at his sudden silence, his waiting for her to continue what she had to say. "I...you're-you're the best friend I have. Both with and without the mask."

"...you're mine too." Jeffrey admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. She was more than that.

"I dunno, I kind of get stressed out ever since you got yourself cut in the alley. I keep overanalyzing everything and worrying that you're going to get hurt again, and that I won't be able to protect you." Skye was frowning down at her shoes and busily restuffing her scarf into her pocket.

"Oh." It made a lot of sense. Jeffrey wondered why he hadn't realized it sooner.

"Ever since I figured out who you were too, everything kind of changed. It was like the first time I realized just how human and breakable you were. That you weren't just some cocky dude with a flair for punching crooks, but someone with a life and a future. It was harder to distance myself, no matter how much I wanted." Skye sighed and fidgeted with her hair. "I'm sorry that I scared you like that, but I'd still do it again, Jeffrey. We both know that you would do the exact same thing; so, can we just leave it there?"

Jeffrey was silent, still absorbing Skye's words. He felt light-headed and light-hearted. Jeffrey had never had someone actually care that much about him- someone who was so willing to give up their own safety to protect his- and it left him frightened, dizzy, and ecstatic all at once. He didn't know what to think or say. He wanted to express himself fully to Skye, bare his whole soul and tell her that she meant just as much. He would do anything for her and that was slightly terrifying.

Skye seemed to get him at least somewhat, because she wordlessly held her hand out to him. It was a question and Jeffrey knew exactly what his answer was. Jeffrey shook his head and pushed her hand aside in favor of sweeping her up in a hug.

Everything was going to be fine. He'd make sure of it.

"I'm still mad at you." Jeffrey had his eyes closed, and his voice was muffled because his face was buried in Skye's good shoulder. Skye didn't answer, but the way her good arm wrapped cautiously around his back was good enough for Jeffrey.

...

"Skye! Jeffrey's here!" Jane's tone was far from subtle.

"So?" Skye yelled back up the stairs. A little irritated that her first impulse was to grin at the mention of Jeffrey's name.

"HE'S HERE TO SEE YOU."

"AND HE'S NOT AN IDIOT. HE KNOWS WHERE I LIVE, JANE." Skye responded, raising her voice to match Jane's volume.

"AND I CAN HEAR EVERY WORD YOU TWO ARE SAYING!" Jeffrey's voice rang out to join their's.

"THE WHOLE STREET CAN HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING." Rosalind put them all to shame. "I'M TRYING TO PUT LYDIA DOWN FOR HER NAP."

"Sorry, Rosie."

"Sorry."

"Jane started it." Skye huffed.

"But you participated." Jeffrey sauntered down the basement stairs like he belonged there just as much as Skye. Considering the amount of times he had hung around as Armageddon while she worked, Skye supposed he kind of did belong. There was no way she was going to say she had missed him.

"I missed this." Jeffrey said as he tossed his jacket onto the washing machine without even looking.

"Kind of weird seeing you come from upstairs like a normal person." Skye noted as she set about clamping the legs of the table she had just glued on.

"What's that do?" Jeffrey crouched down next to Skye and watched curiously.

"I'm making sure the legs are in tight as possible before the glue settles and hardens." Skye grunted, trying to turn the handle as much as she could.

"Here. That looks like a two hand job, no matter how strong you are."

Skye let Jeffrey take over screwing the clamp in as she held the leg in place. They copied the same movement for each corner.

"It looks nice." Jeffrey admired as he stepped back and dusted his hands off on his pants. "You're going to paint it right?"

"Varnish." Skye corrected getting to her feet. "And I've got to run the sander over it one more time before that."

"That's the machine that makes the big 'Vrrrrnnnnnnn' sound right?"

Though his description was comedic, Skye had to admit he wasn't wrong. "Yeah, that's the one." Skye set about putting her tools in order, aware of Jeffrey tracking her movements.

"When's the sling come off?"

"Honestly? I would have taken it off two days ago. But they all weren't having any of that. Too paranoid, but I guess I owe them that much. I've actually been taking it off when they aren't looking." Skye pulled it off to show Jeffrey. "There was only so many one-armed push-ups and pull-ups that I could do. I didn't want my right arm to be massive and the left arm to look like a limp noodle."

"...You just had me clamp the legs on your table when you were fully capable of doing it yourself?"

"I'm more than capable of clamping legs onto a desk even with one hand. You just offered and I wasn't about to pass up free labor."

"Nefarious. Making me feel sorry for you. You are a manipulator."

"Hardly." Skye rolled her eyes and tossed a wrench over her shoulder. It landed in the toolbox without her looking. Jeffrey applauded politely. "Manipulation's one thing I can't get behind. It involves a lot of fake sincerity and lying in my opinion. I think you should mean everything you say, keeps things more simple that way. I hate complications."

"Yeah, we made everything complicated enough even without all that nonsense." Jeffrey chuckled. "But you can't tell me that you wouldn't watch what you say to avoid hurting someone's feelings. Like what if I asked you how this t-shirt looks on me?"

"I'd say it looks fine on you."

"Now I know you're lying, I look more than fine." Jeffrey tossed his head and flexed his muscles.

"You look better in green." Skye hadn't meant to say that. Why had she said that?

Jeffrey's head whipped around at her words. "What?"

"Nothing."

"No. You said I look better in green." Jeffrey crossed his arms smugly and leaned against the wall next to her. "Do I sense an ulterior motive for you making all my equipment green?"

"No. I just like green." _It definitely wasn't because his of eyes. "_ Stop reading into it."

"How can I not read into that? You're practically admitting that you like seeing me in green."

"It wasn't like that. I was merely offering an opinion. You look better in green than you do in gray." Skye insisted, hating that she was beginning to grow flustered. "Simple as that. I told you I always mean exactly what I say and nothing more."

"No matter what?" Jeffrey's smirk was getting on her nerves. Skye knew he was up to something with his question, but she couldn't back out.

"No matter what." She nodded and turned away, starting to get thrown off by his close ,proximity.

"So you meant it when you implied that I was an angel?"

Skye froze. Internally, every curse word she knew began to run through her head.

"C'mon, I mean if we're applying your rules of logic here it should be rather straight forward."

"Logically speaking I was dying and therefore such statements shouldn't be used against me." Skye kept her back to him.

"Logically speaking wouldn't you agree that words that you thought were going to be your final words should be given their proper weight and therefore in all actuality be used against you?"

"Not without a lawyer present."

"Are you going to sue me for you hitting on me?"

"I wasn't hitting on you. I was using a pick-up line to defuse the tension of me getting shot." Skye was indignant. "You use pick-up lines all the time, but once I use one I'm the one who's hitting on you?"

"Me using pick-up lines _is_ me hitting on you." Jeffrey said in disbelief before he could stop himself. He clamped his mouth closed and stepped back.

Malfunction. Skye's brain was offline. Time to check the router. Rebooting. Please wait while she worked to process all the information. "Um..."

"I mean..." Jeffrey mumbled sheepishly. "You're the only person I really use them on. I couldn't talk like that to anyone else."

"Oh." Skye's brain still hadn't completely kicked in. Jeffrey was rambling now and she wasn't sure she was focusing on all of his words.

"I mean it started with Shadow, but then there was the night where you were stitching me up as just yourself and I couldn't stop myself. I hated myself for it too, but then it kind of worked out because you were Shadow and you were Skye and I kind of couldn't stop after that, even though you didn't seem to appreciate it at all. I couldn't stop-"

Skye usually hated her own impulsivity that drove her into acting without the rational side of her brain thinking things through, but as her lips crashed onto Jeffrey's she couldn't find it in herself to complain. Jeffrey seemed to feel the same way too, because he kissed her back.

...

"AH-HA" Jane threw the basement door open. She looked sorely disappointed to see Skye and Jeffrey sitting six feet apart from each other, Jeffrey on the washing machine and Skye backwards on her computer chair.

"Ah-ha?" Jeffrey raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Never mind." Jane pouted. "What are you two up to?" Her voice dripped suggestiveness.

"We were talking." Skye pointed out.

"That's it?" Jane wiggled her eyebrows, trying to get more out of them. It had been two weeks since Jeffrey and Skye had been reunited after she had gotten back from the hospital, and there was still no sign that either one had confessed to each other. Jane was on the verge of locking them in the closet together or something else equally drastic.

"Just talking, Jane." Jeffrey confirmed patiently.

"That's all you ever seem to do." Jane muttered to herself.

"What's that?" Skye furrowed her eyebrows at her suspiciously.

"Nothing." Jane said innocently. "Did you finish the new chapter of my book?"

The book that drew heavily from what she observed of Jeffrey and Skye's lives, and the romance that she had to greatly exaggerate.

"It was alright. Too much angst for me." Skye shrugged. "If I wanted more of that kind of thing in my life I'd put a V6 engine in a sports car."

Jeffrey and Jane both gave her a blank look.

"You know a crappy minivan engine in a car like-"

"Please do everyone a favor and don't make another mechanic metaphor for as long as you live." Jane told her.

"I liked this chapter." Jeffrey cut Skye off before she could subject them to a lengthy discussion on terrible cars. "Though you kind of left us on a cliffhanger there, is the driver in your story going to survive getting shot like that? It's been two months and we still haven't gotten the next chapter."

"You can't rush art, Jeffrey. You of all people should understand that." Jane patted his shoulder condescendingly.

"Exactly." Skye nodded sagely. "Take as long as you need, Jane. In fact if you even decide that this book isn't worth it, I won't be too disappointed if you don't finish-"

"But you don't need to wait any longer." Jane announced triumphantly and produced another stack of papers. "Here's the next chapter. In this one we're finally going to get the long-awaited confession of love that we've been waiting for."

Skye groaned and fell out of her chair dramatically. "Somebody get me bleach to pour into my eyes."

"Here." Jane handed her the jug unsympathetically. "Jeffrey, be sure to read the chapter out loud for her so she won't miss anything when she goes blind. That's a great idea, you two should read it together. Right now. I'll give you some privacy."

Jane flounced back upstairs.

"Okay, I know I'm completely oblivious, but I think even I got all those insinuations." Jeffrey declared.

"Good for you. Promise you won't take me to the hospital when I drink this, no matter how much pain I appear to be in?"

"Stop being so drastic."

"I'm not being drastic, I'm being serious." Skye sulked as he took the bleach away from her. "I'm a little tired of everyone's hints that we'd be perfect together. Even Iantha suggested that you'd be the perfect person to bring to that hockey game I'm going to on Tuesday night."

"Who are you taking then?" Jeffrey sounded a little worried.

"You of course, Super Dork. But that's not the point." Skye waved dismissively.

"Why don't you just tell them about us? That we're..." Jeffrey paused. Even he didn't know what they were exactly. What did four kisses and two hangouts at a paintball joint constitute as?

"Because they're all going to freak out. You've never seen how excited my family can get. Believe me, it's not pretty." Skye shuddered.

"It'd give us more excuses for why we need to leave so hurriedly." Jeffrey focused all of his attention nails, pretending to try to get a piece of dirt out from under them.

Skye hummed non-committedly and pulled the vest back out from under her desk where she had hid it when Jane had burst in.

"I mean, there is something between us. Right?" Jeffrey insisted, wiping his damp palms on his jeans.

Skye shrugged and handed him the vest. "Try it on."

Jeffrey obeyed. "I mean I've always been interested in you, Skye. And I guess what I'm trying to say-"

"I even added pockets to yours, since you're so against cargo pants." Skye interrupted, tugging on different areas of the vest and roaming her eyes over it with a practiced eye.

Like always, Jeffrey was finding it a little more difficult to breathe with her so close.

"It's great, but back to the-"

"I even improved my previous technique. If I keep improving the material I could make billions selling it."

"That's cool and I like it, but, Skye-"

"Aren't you going to ask me what it's made of?" Skye crossed her arms and looked offended.

Jeffrey sighed and looked back and forth between Skye and the vest he wore. He gave in. "Fine, Skye. What's this made-"

"Boyfriend material." Skye blurted out, not even giving him time to finish.

Jeffrey stared at her blankly, trying to make sense of her words that had done a complete 180 from what she had been chatting about before. Boyfriend material. _Boyfriend material_. Bring in the defibrillators because Jeffrey needed his heart to be jumpstarted back into life.

"You mean it?" Jeffrey asked her breathlessly.

"Well technically it's made of a compound of both kev-" Jeffrey kissed her before she could finish, grabbing the nervous hand she had begun to run through her hair. Five times. That was their fifth time kissing, and yeah Jeffrey was counting.

"I'm assuming that's a yes, then?" Skye sounded just as out of breath as him.

"Yes. Absolutely. You're irresistible when you drop a pick-up line, even if it's cliché."

"Good to know one of us is good at that sort of thing then." Skye grinned.

"My pick-up lines are stellar! I got you didn't I?"

"Jeffrey, your pick-up lines were probably what held you back in the first place, that and I genuinely didn't like you."

"You like me now though, right?" Jeffrey insisted.

Skye appeared to consider this. "Well, I would take a bullet for you."

"Too soon." Jeffrey winced. "I appreciate the gesture but that's a sore spot. I'm still mad at you."

"No, you're mad at Shadow." Skye grinned cheekily. "I'm just Skye, humble mechanic who happened to get caught in a crossfire. As far as I know, you weren't anywhere near there."

"Well that's too bad, I thought I was agreeing to be Shadow's boyfriend not Skye, the grumpy, mad scientist's."

"As if. I've been told by a reliable source that Shadow is a figure of awe and inspiration, no way she'd go for someone like you."

"Really?" Jeffrey demanded, though he was grinning.

Skye smiled. "No."

...

 **Thanks for all the reviews guys, it's the only thing that's kept me going on this story, this chapter was a real doozy to write.**

 **KoalaLover-ABC-123: This is the last real chapter. I might do a short epilogue if I feel like it and if I've thought of something that'll add to this. I'm glad the last chapter was a hit with you, and I hope this one fulfilled all your expectations.**

 **Natblake: You see the Snickers bar is only worth about 5+ in health; so I don't think Jeffrey would have been able to bring back with just that. I'm glad you liked that last chapter despite the long cliffhanger I left you with.**

 **GM01: Yeah it escalated pretty fast, I had to get those chumps to get the ball rolling. I'm still wondering how much Jane would have approved of my methods... Thanks for sticking with my little story for so long.**

 **Nijibrush: I forced you to wait for this chapter for so long, and I'm sorry for that, but I was so thrilled that I was able to get so many reactions from you with that last chapter. I love that you've stuck by me from almost the very beginning and I hope you'll see me through even more down the road.**


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